The Teams: Tarleton Texans (24-22, 8-7 WAC) vs. Sam Houston Bearkats (17-29, 7-8 WAC)
Where: Stephenville, TX
Stadium: Tarleton Softball Complex
Times: 4 p.m. / 6:30 p.m. CT (Friday); 12 p.m. CT (Saturday)
Video: ESPN+
 
TEXAN SOFTBALL GAME DAY
With only three weeks remaining in the regular season, the WAC softball tournament field is coming down to the wire. Tarleton is right in the thick of the race for the league's top eight spots and will host rival Sam Houston in a crucial three-game series in Stephenville this weekend. The Texans and Bearkats will play a doubleheader Friday at 4 p.m. and the series finale Saturday at noon.
 
Live stats will be available for all games and the entire series will be streamed on ESPN+.
 
AT THE BALLPARK
Saturday is 'Bark at the Park' sponsored by the Dapper Dog where Tarleton Athletics will be giving away frisbees and purple tennis balls for Texan canine friends.
 
SERIES HISTORY

• This series has been a regular occurrence since Tarleton made the jump to Division I in 2021. The Bearkats won the first meeting in 2021 as non-conference foes but the Texans have owned the series since Sam Houston joined the WAC prior to last season. The teams met in two different series last year as division rivals and the Texans swept both series to now lead the all-time series 6-1.
• The Tarleton offense was dominant in the series against Sam Houston last season. The Texans scored at least four runs in every game against the Bearkats last year, including 27 total runs in the last two games against Sam Houston. The last two games in Stephenville were both walk-off victories – a bases-loaded hit by pitch from Katy Schaefer and a walk-off home run from Amanda DeSario (March 12-13).

 
QUICK HITS

• Tarleton went 6-0 in the season series against Sam Houston last year when the two teams were division rivals within the WAC. Katy Schaefer (.550) and Morgan Medford (.500) led the team in hitting in six games against the Bearkats. Schaefer drove in 19 RBI in those six games while Medford scored 13 runs, including a school-record five runs on April 9 in Huntsville.
• Tarleton enters the weekend with two players among the top-15 in the conference in batting average. Katy Schaefer (.364) and Kelci Hill (.359) lead the Texans and rank No. 12 and 13, respectively, in the WAC.
• The Tarleton outfield has elevated their game offensively over the last 10 games. The Texan outfield unit of Kelci Hill (.406), Kayla Wallace (.433), and Amanda DeSario (.417) are lead the Texan offense with .400 batting averages. The trio has also combined for 19 runs scored – 11 from Hill – and 10 RBI.
• Kelci Hill has been a dominant force in the top of the Tarleton lineup all season long. She has now hit in each of the top four spots of the lineup and has at least a .333 average in all four spots, including a .625 clip in the two-hole.

 
BROADCASTING ON THE WORLDWIDE LEADER

• Part of the latest renovations to the Tarleton Baseball Complex and Tarleton Softball Complex included the capability to match ESPN standards of multiple camera angles on the broadcast. With that, Tarleton will stream select 2023 baseball and softball home games on ESPN+.
• Over the last two years and this past week, Tarleton has broadcast all their baseball and softball home games on WAC International, formerly called WAC Digital Network. Due to specific renovations regarding the ability to have added camera angles, Texan games can now reach a larger audience on the ESPN platform.

 
A LOOK AT THE WAC

• Tarleton was chosen to finish sixth in the WAC Preseason Poll released on February 2. The Texans received 62 total votes, which was two votes ahead of ACU. Grand Canyon was picked at the top of the conference with Seattle U (2), SFA (3), California Baptist (4), and Utah Valley (5) finishing ahead of the Texans.
• On Feb. 20, Katy Schaefer and Grace Garcia were named the Western Athletic Conference Hitter and Pitcher of the Week for their dominant showings last week. This is the first WAC Player of the Week award for both players. Schaefer couldn't be stopped at the plate and led the Texans with a .650 (13-20) batting average while driving in nine RBI, including one home run and four doubles. Garcia went 3-0 with an ERA of 0.00 over 13.2 innings, allowing zero runs on five hits, with 10 strikeouts and zero walks. She pitched two shutouts and improved to 4-0 on the season. She capped off her week with a six-inning perfect game on Sunday against Texas A&M-Commerce. It was the second perfect game in program history and first since 1997.
• Garcia got the nod from the league office for the second time this season on Monday, March 20 after a stellar performance in the Pacific Northwest. The senior right-hander bested Seattle U, not once but, twice to lift the Texans to a series win. For the week, she threw 16.2 innings of work and struck out seven. She is the second Tarleton pitcher to win the WAC Pitcher of the Week award twice in the same season.
• On Monday, April 3, Tristan Bridges joined the list of WAC weekly winners. The senior southpaw earned her second career weekly honor after serving up a no-hitter against California Baptist in the series opener. She faced two batters over the minimum, allowing baserunners on a hit by pitch and an error. It was the first no-hitter of her career.
• Tarleton enters this weekend in fifth place in the WAC standings with a league record of 8-7 while three teams are sitting outside of the top six with a 7-8 league record: NM State, Sam Houston, and UTA. Utah Tech (10-5), Grand Canyon (9-6), SFA (9-6), and CBU (9-6) have a hold on the top four positions in the WAC standings.

 
SCHAEFER TOPS 100 RBI
Katy Schaefer is entering Tarleton elite territory as an all-time run producer. The Sweeny, Texas native drove in her 100th career RBI with a run-scoring single up the middle on March 5 against Maine. Her walk-off home run against Grambling State on March 29 moved her into top five all-time at Tarleton. She is now in sole possession of fifth place all-time for RBI in program history (122).
 

RBI
#	Player	Seasons	Total
1.	Georgia Capell	2018-22	215
2.	Nyka Wood	2015-18	191
3.	Arianna Rodriguez	2010-13	149
4.	Alicia Petersma	1999-02	129
5.	Katy Schaefer	2020-23	122
6.	Katelyn Conlee	2013-16	108
7.	Monica Garza	2003-04	107
8.	Melody Mayse	2013-16	105
9.	Jennifer Maupin	1996-99	104
10.	Destiny Crumpley	2018-21	103

 
EYES ON 400 STRIKEOUTS
Tristan Bridges sits in the top-5 list for strikeouts. The senior enters the week with 389 career strikeouts and is now in sole possession of fourth place all-time. She is 11 strikeouts away from becoming the fourth pitcher in program history with 400 career punchouts.
 

Strikeouts
#	Player	Seasons	Total
1.	Jordan Withrow	2017-20	676
2.	Carla Geeslin	2001-04	521
3.	Randi Fentress	2011-14	445
4.	Tristan Bridges	2019-23	389
5.	Caryn Holbrook	1997-00	384
6.	Samantha Swanda	2011-12	349
7.	Haley Freyman	2015-18	333
8.	Brooke Saulters	2007-08	320
9.	A.J. Bristow	2003-05	280
10.	Jill Ratliff	1999-02	276

 
BRIDGES CLOSING IN ON 600 INNINGS
Tristan Bridges has been a mainstay in the pitching circle for Tarleton since day one. The senior surpassed the 500-inning plateau. She reached her 500th inning with a swinging strikeout to lead off the bottom of the third inning against Tulsa on March 3. Only seven pitchers in Tarleton history have thrown 500 innings. She is now 35.0 innings shy of becoming the fourth Texan in program history to eclipse 600 innings.
 

Innings Pitched
#	Player	Seasons	Total
1.	Haley Freyman	2015-18	678.0
2.	Carla Geeslin	2001-04	647.1
3.	Jordan Withrow	2017-20	608.0
4.	Tristan Bridges	2019-23	565.0
5.	Randi Fentress	2011-14	563.0
6.	Jill Ratliff	1999-02	558.0
7.	Caryn Holbrook	1997-00	554.0
8.	A.J. Bristow	2003-05	474.0
9.	Brooke Saulters	2007-08	423.0
10.	Samantha Swanda	2011-12	356.2

 
MEDFORD MAKES THE PLAY
In game two of the series at Seattle U, Morgan Medford became the sixth player in Tarleton history to record 300 career defensive assists. She is currently No. 4 all-time and is chasing the all-time leader, Kelly Siskowski, at 367.
 

Defensive Assists
#	Player	Seasons	Total
1.	Kelly Siskowski	1996-99	367
2.	Nicole Cone	2006-09	358
3.	Cheryl Dickens	2000-03	343
4.	Morgan Medford	2020-23	332
5.	Jennifer Cervenka	1996-99	330
6.	Arianna Rodriguez	2010-13	322
7.	Jalayne Rinewalt	1996-99	296
8.	Savannah Stech	2015-17	288
9.	April Gonzalez	2007-10	280
10.	Delaney Wayland	2015-17	263

 
TURNING THINGS AROUND QUICKLY
The Texans' 30 wins in 2022 highlighted an incredible turn of events for Tarleton, who won only 17 games in its debut Division I season in 2021. The Texans enjoyed a 12.0 game improvement, which was the 17th best in NCAA Division I from 2021 to 2022. The programs with at least an 11.5 game improvement are as follows:
 

Biggest Turnaround from 2021 to 2022
Rank	School	Head Coach	'21 W-L	'22 W-L	Imp.
1.	Penn St.	Clarisa Crowell	7-34	32-22	18½
2.	Boise St.	Justin Shults	20-25	40-10	17½
3.	Grand Canyon	Shanon Hays	19-30	39-16	17
4.	Murray St.	Kara Amundson	22-29	40-18	14½
	South Dakota	Robert Wagner	13-39	28-25	14½
6.	Belmont	Laura Matthews	15-26	33-17	13½
	Louisiana Tech	Josh Taylor	22-30	39-20	13½
	North Florida	Marcie Higgs	21-23	42-17	13½
9.	Fla. Atlantic	Joan Joyce	12-35	29-26	13
	Georgia Tech	Aileen Morales	20-26	38-18	13
	Omaha	Mike Heard	20-28	32-14	13
	USC Upstate	Chris Hawkins	29-17	48-10	13
13.	Nebraska	Rhonda Revelle	22-22	41-16	12½
	New Mexico	Paula Congleton	10-36	26-27	12½
	Presbyterian	David Williams	15-19	36-15	12½
	UNCW	Kristy Norton	15-23	32-15	12½
17.	Akron	Meaggan Pettipiece	8-46	18-32	12
	Samford	Kimball Cassady	18-27	34-19	12
	Tarleton St.	Mark Cumpian	17-36	30-25	12
20.	Oregon St.	Laura Berg	20-26	39-22	11½
	Rutgers	Kristen Butler	8-36	25-30	11½
To determine games improved, add the difference in victories between the two seasons to the difference in losses, then divide by two. Ties not counted. This includes postseason play.

 
CUMPIAN JOINS ELITE TEXAN COACHING COMPANY
It hasn't taken long, but Mark Cumpian has already climbed to the elite status of Tarleton Athletics coaches. With his 200th career win last Sunday, Cumpian is the eighth head coach in Tarleton Athletics history (seventh with NCAA wins during their tenure) to reach the 200-win milestone. He is the fourth-fastest coach at Tarleton to reach the milestone and the fastest among baseball or softball coaches to reach the plateau.
 

Fastest Tarleton Coach to 200 Wins
#	Coach	Sport	Games to Reach 200
1.	Jan Lowery (all NAIA)	W. Basketball	277
2.	Ronnie Hearne	W. Basketball	299
3.	Lonn Reisman	M. Basketball	307
4.	Mark Cumpian	Softball	316
5.	Jack Allen	Baseball	330
	Julie Mata	Softball	330
7.	Mary Schindler	Volleyball	339
8.	Bryan Conger	Baseball	350

 
NOTABLES

• HAVE A DAY, KATY SCHAEFER: Katy Schaefer was an absolute force at the plate during the Friday night doubleheader against New Mexico State. In those two games, Schaefer went 4-for-5 (.800) with three home runs and eight RBI. Her three home runs also moved her into the top 10 in program history in home runs, where she is now tied for seventh all-time with Tanna Huie (25) and one away from matching Karli Herron (26).
• RUN HOME, MORGAN MEDFORD: Morgan Medford already holds the Tarleton record for runs scored in a single game and now she has top-10 all-time in that category for her resumé. She passed Stacie Greear and is now sixth all-time in touching home plate. She is 12 runs away from moving into a three-way tie for fourth in program history.
• BETTER TOGETHER: Mark Cumpian and Stefanie Phillips have reached the decade mark of time spent together. The two joined forces as assistants in 2014. They spent three seasons as assistant coaches together before Cumpian took over as head coach. They have been together for 510 games with a record of 297-213 (.582) together. Game No. 2 of the doubleheader against Grambling was the duo's 500th game together on the Tarleton coaching staff.
• CUMPIAN AMONG THE BEST: While reclassifying programs are not counted among the national records and yearly record books, Tarleton head coach Mark Cumpian would be considered among the elite coaches in the nation. The seventh year head coach enters the week with a career record of 215-135 for a win percentage of .614, which would rank him among the top 50 active coaches in the country for win percentage.
• EYEING 30 AGAIN: Tarleton had its first 30-win season as a member of NCAA Division I last year. The Texans reached 30 wins in the second game of the National Invitational Softball Championship (NISC) in Fort Collins, Colo. last May. The Texans' invitation to compete in the NISC marked the first postseason invitation for any program at the Division I level for Tarleton State University. The Texans are six wins away from 30 this season with 10 games left on the schedule in the regular season.
• POLISHING OFF THE NO-NO: Tristan Bridges accomplished a goal that has been five years in the making when she no-hit CBU on March 31 in a 2-0 victory. Bridges has flirted with a no-hitter three times in her career, going the complete game and allowing only one hit in those previous efforts. The senior southpaw finally accomplished the feat against the Lancers in seven innings. It was the 10th no-hitter in program history.
• THAT EPIC SUNDAY WIN: On Sunday, Feb. 19, Tarleton enjoyed quite the afternoon. Grace Garcia became the second pitcher in program history to throw a perfect game. She went 18 up and 18 down over six innings to defeat Texas A&M-Commerce 8-0. She joins Caryn Holbrook (3/29/97) as the only Texans with a perfect game in program history. Mark Cumpian became just the seventh head coach of any sport in Tarleton State Athletics history to win 200 games for Tarleton. He notched career win No. 200 in his 316th game at the helm of Texan Softball. Not to be lost in the shuffle of Cumpian's milestone win and Garcia's perfecto, the Texan offense set a new school record with seven doubles in Sunday's game. The previous record of six was set in 1997 and has been matched five times since, most recently in 2017.
• WINNING AT THE PLATE: When Tarleton wins a game, the Texans have 10 hitters in the lineup with a .300 batting average or higher in at least 40 at bats including four hitters eclipsing .400 and Kelci Hill leading the way with a .513 clip. When Tarleton loses a game, the Texans have no one hitting over .300 and only six hitters eclipsing a .200 average with at least 40 at bats.
• POUND THE ZONE: In the circle, the difference between wins and losses have shown in the walk column. In Tarleton's 24 wins this season, Tarleton has walked 56 batters (2.3 bb/g). In the 22 losses, the Texans have walked 112 (5.1 bb/g).
• GARCIA AMONG WAC BEST: Grace Garcia has been one of the best pitchers in the WAC in her grad transfer season with the Texans. The senior right-hander is second in the league in strikeouts (83) and wins (11).

 
UP NEXT FOR TARLETON
Tarleton will make its final road trip of the regular season when the Texans head to Arlington for a weekend series at UTA starting Friday. The series at UTA will be the only one of the WAC season with a single game Friday and a doubleheader Saturday. Then a midweek at Houston Christian before closing the regular season at home against SFA on May 5-6.