Where: Fort Collins, Colorado
Stadium: Triple Crown Sports Complex
Video: Triple Crown Sports on Youtube
 
TEXAN SOFTBALL GAME DAY
Tarleton is headed back to the National Invitational Softball Championships (NISC) for the second straight season after being selected to the eight-team field last Sunday night. The Texans will open the postseason tournament Thursday at 2 p.m. CT / 1 p.m. MT against South Dakota State.
 
There will be live stats and a video broadcast available for all games. The video broadcast will be available on the Triple Crown Sports Youtube Channel.
 
TOURNAMENT TEAMS
Maryland (36-17) earned the top seed in the tournament while the other teams competed are as follows (in alphabetical order):
 
BYU (32-16)
CSUN (28-22)
Iowa (31-27)
San José State (26-28)
South Dakota State (37-17)
Tarleton State (30-27)
UC Davis (29-20)
 
OPENING ROUND SCHEDULE
Here's the schedule for the first two rounds:
 
Thursday, May 18 (all times Mountain):
Maryland vs. CSUN, 10 a.m. (Red Rocks Field)
Iowa vs. UC Davis, 10 a.m. (Horsetooth Field)
San José State vs. BYU, 1 p.m. (RR)
Tarleton State vs. South Dakota State, 1 p.m. (HT)
 
Friday, May 19
Loser's bracket, both fields, 9 a.m.
Winner's bracket, both fields, noon
Loser's bracket, both fields, 3 p.m.
 
SERIES HISTORY

• Of the eight teams competing, Tarleton has a previous playing history against two – BYU and South Dakota State. The Texans lost two games to South Dakota State earlier this year at the Tulsa/Oklahoma State Tournament. Tarleton played BYU in Austin during their first season as a Division I school and fell 7-1. Any other opponent Tarleton sees at the NISC will be the first meeting.
• Tarleton went 1-2 in last year's trip to the NISC in Fort Collins. Tarleton lost to North Alabama (18-15) in game one and UNLV (6-4) in game three with a 6-4 win over UC-San Diego in between.

 
QUICK HITS

• Tarleton is one of only 72 Division I college softball programs in the country still competing. The NISC (eight teams) is the only other nationally-recognized postseason college softball tournament outside of the NCAA championships (64).
• Three Tarleton starters are heading back to Fort Collins after hitting .400 or better in last year's NISC: Austin Germain (.556), Tristyn Trull (.500), and Katy Schaefer (.417). This trio of Texans combined for four home runs and 10 RBI over Tarleton's NISC experience in 2022. As a team, Tarleton hit .351 with 10 home runs in Fort Collins last year.
• Tarleton will open the tournament with a rematch against South Dakota State. The Jackrabbits won both games in Oklahoma. Austin Germain (2-5) hit .400 in those games as the only Texan with more than one hit in the two games.
• Over the last 10 games, Kayla Wallace continues to lead the Texan offense. The junior outfielder is hitting .500 (16-32) with two doubles, two triples, and a team-leading .688 slugging percentage. Jordan Dickerson (.391), Amanda DeSario (.348), Tristyn Trull (.314), and Kelci Hill (.308) are all hitting over .300 with 20 at bats in that span.

 
REACHING PHOENIX

• By sweeping UTA on April 30, the Texans secured their spot in the WAC Tournament, which took the top eight teams in the league standings. This was 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.
• It was 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.

 
ALL-WAC TEXANS

• The WAC announced that Tarleton infielder Katy Schaefer and outfielder Kelci Hill have been named to the All-WAC Second Team. It was Schaefer's second career postseason conference award, adding to her All-WAC honorable mention in 2021. She has led the Texans in several offensive categories this year, including batting average (.365), home runs (11), RBI (48), total bases (102) and slugging percentage (.654).
• For Hill, she made quite the impression in her first year with the Texan program, her junior campaign. So far, she has led the team in hits (65), runs (42) and triples (tied-most at four), plus was second on the team in batting average (.357), RBI (36), doubles (13) and total bases (92).

 
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 fourth place all-time for RBI in program history (133) and 16 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	133
5.	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

 
TOUCH 'EM ALL, KATY
Katy Schaefer has also moved into the top five all-time at Tarleton for career home runs. Schaefer stands alone in fifth place all-time with 28 home runs and is three away from moving into a three-way tie at No. 3 with Alicia Petersma and Samantha Swanda (31).
 

Home Runs
#	Player	Seasons	Total
1.	Georgia Capell	2018-22	69
2.	Arianna Rodriguez	2010-13	41
3.	Alicia Petersma	1999-02	31
	Samantha Swanda	2011-12	31
5.	Katy Schaefer	2020-23	28
6.	Brittnee Rice	2008-09	27
7.	Karli Herron	2018-19	26
8.	Tanna Huie	2018-19	25
9.	Katie Welborn	2011-12	24
10.	Monica Garza	2003-04	23

 
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 11.0 innings shy of becoming the fourth Texan in program history to eclipse 600 innings. If she reaches 600 innings, she will join Jordan Withrow and Hall of Famer Carla Geeslin as the only pitchers in Tarleton history with 600 innings and 400 strikeouts.
 

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	589.0
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.
 

Defensive Assists
#	Player	Seasons	Total
1.	Kelly Siskowski	1996-99	367
2.	Nicole Cone	2006-09	358
3.	Morgan Medford	2020-23	350
4.	Cheryl Dickens	2000-03	343
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, 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 the 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 in the finale against UTA.
• 400 STRIKEOUTS: Tristan Bridges sits in the top-5 list for strikeouts. The senior got SFA's Lexi Benson swinging in the second inning of the series opener to become the fourth Texan with 400 career strikeouts.
• 46 AND COUNTING FOR TRISTAN: Tristan Bridges continues to etch her name among the best pitchers in Tarleton history. With two wins over UTA, Bridges moves into the top five for Tarleton in another category – all-time victories. Bridges finished the regular season 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 eight 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 521 games with a record of 303-218 (.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 221-140 for a win percentage of .612, which would rank him among the top 50 active coaches in the country for win percentage.
• REACHING 30 AGAIN: Tarleton secured its second straight 30-win season with a win over Stephen F. Austin. Tarleton had its first 30-win season as a member of NCAA Division I last year. It is 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. The only time in Cumpian's career he has not reached 30 wins was Tarleton's debut season at D1 ('21) and the COVID-shortened season ('20) when the season was cancelled with Tarleton leading their conference at 19-4.
• 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 30 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 .485 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 85 batters (2.8 bb/g). In the 27 losses, the Texans have walked 129 (4.8 bb/g). Tarleton has walked one or less in 10 games this season and are 7-3, including 5-0 in games where they allow no walks. Tarleton's last game to feature two walks or fewer came in the WAC Tournament against CBU.
• GARCIA AMONG WAC BEST: Grace Garcia has been one of the best pitchers in the WAC this season with the Texans. The senior right-hander finished second in the league in strikeouts (100) and third in wins (13).

 
UP NEXT FOR TARLETON
This tournament will be the final run for Tarleton this season. The Texans will continue through the NISC and then head into the offseason.