The Teams: Tarleton Texans (28-24, 12-9 WAC) vs. Houston Christian Huskies (20-27, 9-12 SLC); Stephen F. Austin Ladyjacks (25-21, 13-8 WAC)
Where: Houston, TX; Stephenville, TX
Stadium: Husky Field; Tarleton Softball Complex
Times: 5 p.m. CT (Tuesday); 4 p.m. / 6:30 p.m. CT (Friday); 12 p.m. CT (Saturday)
Video: No video vs. HCU; WACinternational.tv (Friday); ESPN+ (Saturday)
 
TEXAN SOFTBALL GAME DAY
The final week of the regular season has arrived and the Texans will play four games this week, beginning with a Tuesday night midweek against Houston Christian at 5 p.m. Tarleton will then host Stephen F. Austin in the final home series Friday and Saturday.
 
There will be live stats available for all four games. Tuesday's game at HCU will not have a video broadcast. The weekend series will be on WACinternational.tv for Friday's doubleheader and ESPN+ for Saturday's finale.
 
SENIOR WEEKEND
Saturday's game will be the last one at home for the Texans, who will recognize their seniors in a postgame ceremony. The Texans who are set to be recognized in Saturday's postgame event are Tristan Bridges, MacKenzie Peterson, Alexis Hoang, Grace Garcia, Amanda DeSario, Kennedy Ferguson, Brittany Coe, and Reagan Chism.
 
AT THE BALLPARK
Friday night's doubleheader will have a 'Cinco de Mayo' themed event that will have live music, food trucks, free koozies, and concession deals by Sodexo when you enter the facility. The live music will come from South Texas Tweek and they will perform from 3:00-3:45 p.m. and 5:15-6:00 p.m. on stage, courtesy of U.S. Sand & Gravel. Saturday's series finale will begin at noon against SFA, which will be the final Bark at the Park, presented by Dapper Dog, of softball's season.
 
SERIES HISTORY

• The final week of regular season softball has arrived and the Texans are set for a single midweek game on the road Tuesday at Houston Christian before returning home for a three-game series against Stephen F. Austin Friday and Saturday. The weekend series will serve as the regular season finale for Tarleton and SFA.
• Tarleton heads to Houston seeking revenge from a doubleheader sweep in Stephenville last season. The Texans hosted the Huskies (formerly known as Houston Baptist) in the 2022 finale and suffered two losses. The Texans trail the all-time series against the Huskies 2-0 as a result.
• Tarleton and Stephen F. Austin have been perennial rivals on the softball diamond since the Texans made their Division I debut in the spring of 2021. The Ladyjacks hold a 6-2 edge in the all-time series and swept their only tour through Stephenville on March 25-26, 2022.
• The rivalry with SFA also features a new chapter between Mark Cumpian and Richie Bruister, who will now stand in opposite dugouts once again. While Cumpian has been a foundational coach for the Tarleton softball program since arriving as an assistant ahead of the 2011 season, Bruister is now on his third stop as the head coach of frequent Tarleton opponents (Texas Woman's ['09-13], Texas A&M-Commerce ['15-21], and Stephen F. Austin['23]).

 
QUICK HITS

• Tarleton's sweep of UTA last weekend was their first in a three-game series this season. It marks the first time the Texans have swept a series since taking all three against Abilene Christian April 15-16 last season. It's the fourth, three-game sweep of a WAC opponent for Tarleton in the last two seasons.
• Grace Garcia and Tristan Bridges have been workhorses for the Tarleton pitching staff this season. The Texan tandem enters the final week of the season ranked No. 5 and 6, respectively, in the WAC in innings pitched. They have combined to throw 241.0 of the 328.2 innings (73%) that Tarleton has pitched this season. Utah Valley is the only other WAC school with two pitchers in the top 10 in innings pitched.
• Kelci Hill enters the weekend leading Tarleton in hits (60) and is one of only four players in the WAC with 60 hits this season. Hill is seven hits behind the WAC leader and is the third player in Tarleton's Division I history with 60 hits in a season, joining Georgia Capell (64) and Morgan Medford (62) in 2022.
• Since conference play started on March 17 at Seattle U, Kayla Wallace has been on a tear offensively. Over the last 24 games, Wallace leads the Texans with a .441 batting average, which includes four doubles, two triples, two homers, 18 runs scored, and 15 RBI. She has moved across five different spots in the lineup over that span and is hitting at least .300 in all five positions, including .476 in the No. 5 spot and .429 in the cleanup spot.
• Three Texans have feasted in the friendly confines of the Tarleton Softball Complex this season. The trio of Katy Schaefer (.471), Kelci Hill (.416), and Austin Germain (.400) are all hitting .400 or higher at home this season. In the pitching circle, Tarleton boasts three Texan pitchers with a sub-3.50 ERA at home: Kennedy Ferguson (3.00), Grace Garcia (3.00), and Tristan Bridges (3.38).

 
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.

 
HEADING TO PHOENIX

• With a sweep of UTA Sunday afternoon, the Texans secured their spot in the WAC Tournament Championship in Phoenix, Arizona next week. Tarleton is currently sitting at No. 4 in the WAC standings and trying to secure a place in the double elimination bracket of the tournament.
• Heading into the last weekend of the regular season, the WAC Softball playoff picture still needs to be finalized. There are six teams within two games of each other vying for official berths into the tournament.
• The top four teams in the standings – Utah Tech (16-5), GCU (14-7), Stephen F. Austin (13-8), and Tarleton (12-9) – are separated by four games.
• The next six teams in the WAC standings are each separated by two games each. Seattle U and Sam Houston are 11-10, California Baptist and Utah Valley are 10-11, and Abilene Christian and UTA are 9-12. New Mexico State is on the outside looking in at 8-13 with a low percentage chance at qualifying.
• The WAC Championship Tournament will accept the top eight teams from the league. The opening round games between the bottom four seeds will square off in a single elimination game with the winners advancing into a double elimination bracket the rest of the way. The tournament will be played in Phoenix, Arizona at GCU beginning on May 10.
• This is Tarleton's first conference championship tournament appearance in their first eligible season at the NCAA Division I. Last June, the WAC approved reclassifying institutions to participate in all conference championships starting in 2022-23. This will be Tarleton's 18th appearance in a postseason conference tournament with the previous 17 coming as a member of the Lone Star Conference in NCAA Division II.

 
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 tied for fourth place all-time for RBI in program history (129) and 20 away from top three behind Arianna Rodriguez (149).
 

RBI
#	Player	Seasons	Total
1.	Georgia Capell	2018-22	215
2.	Nyka Wood	2015-18	191
3.	Arianna Rodriguez	2010-13	149
4.	Katy Schaefer	2020-23	129
	Alicia Petersma	1999-02	129
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 399 career strikeouts and is now in sole possession of fourth place all-time. Her next strikeout makes her 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	399
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 20.1 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	579.2
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.
 

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	342
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

• KELCI GOES YARD: In Saturday's series opener against UTA, Kelci Hill ripped her first career home run for the purple and white in a barnburner victory over the Mavericks. It was her first home run since April 11, 2021 against Marshall when she was a member of Middle Tennessee State. After snapping the streak of 748 days without a long ball, Hill went yard in consecutive days with her second home run of the season to get the scoring started in the finale against UTA.
• TOUCH 'EM ALL, KATY: Katy Schaefer has also moved into the top five all-time at Tarleton for career home runs. Schaefer matched her jersey number in career long balls last weekend with her 27th home run, tying Britnee Rice for No. 5 in program history. She is now four home runs away from moving into a three-way tie at No. 3 with Alicia Petersma and Samantha Swanda (31).
• 46 AND COUNTING FOR TRISTAN: Tristan Bridges continues to etch her name among the best pitchers in Tarleton history. With two wins over UTA last weekend, Bridges moves into the top five for Tarleton in another category – all-time victories. Bridges enters the last regular season week of her career with 46 wins, moving her into a tie for fifth place in program history with A.J. Bristow.
• 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 516 games with a record of 301-215 (.583) together. Game No. 2 of the doubleheader against Grambling was the duo's 500th game together on the Tarleton coaching staff. The second game of Tarleton's sweep at UTA on April 29 was the duo's 300th victory together on the 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 219-137 for a win percentage of .615, 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 are two wins away from 30 this season with four games left on the schedule in the regular season. If the Texans can reach the 30-win plateau, it would be the 13th time in program history to eclipse 30 wins in a season and the fifth time in Mark Cumpian's seven seasons as the head coach.
• 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: In Tarleton's 28 wins, the Texans have eight hitters in the lineup with a .300 batting average or higher in at least 50 at bats including two hitters eclipsing .400 and Kelci Hill leading the way with a .484 clip. In games Tarleton has lost, the Texans have no one hitting over .300 and only five hitters with over a .200 average with at least 50 at bats.
• POUND THE ZONE: In the circle, the difference between wins and losses have shown in the walk column. In Tarleton's 28 wins this season, Tarleton has walked 80 batters (2.9 bb/g). In the 24 losses, the Texans have walked 118 (4.9 bb/g). Tarleton has walked one or less in nine games this season and are 7-2, including 5-0 in games where they allow no walks.
• 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 third in the league in strikeouts (90) and wins (11).
• DOUBLE VISION: Tarleton is second in the WAC in doubles (75) this season and has hit at least one double in 11 of the last 14 games. Over that 14-game span, the Texans have six games with multiple two-baggers.

 
UP NEXT FOR TARLETON
Tarleton will head back to Phoenix for the second time this season, this time to compete for a WAC Tournament Championship. The tournament begins on May 10 at the GCU Softball Field.