CEDAR CITY, Utah – After back-to-back wins over the Thunderbirds of Southern Utah 306 days ago clinching a WAC Tournament berth, the Purple and White are set for another series looking to continue their winning ways.
Last time the two teams met, the Texans hit three long balls in the final three innings including back-to-back homers from
Kayla Wallace and
Tristyn Trull in the bottom of the seventh.
Tarleton State was down to their final strike as Trull hit a 3-2 pitch deep down the left field line walking things off and sending the Purple and White to Seattle for the second-straight conference tournament in as many years as eligible.
Through four weeks of play, the Texans have multiple athletes leaving their mark nationally.
Austin Germain currently 11th in the nation in doubles with nine on the season. With her nine doubles through 21 games, she ranks 31st in doubles per game. With lots of doubles come lots of hits and she currently ranks 41st in the nation in hits with 29. She also sits 100th in total bases with 43.
Other Texans top in the nation include
Kalyn Hill who has caught five base runners stealing which puts her 41st in the nation. JJ Duke sits in 47th in doubles with seven thus far and is 10th in sac flies with three.
Hayden Fox is 10th in the nation in sac bunts per game at 0.35.
On the pitching side of things,
Alexa Rehmeier and
Sadie Beck are currently tied for 11th in the nation in saves with two.
Shelby Schultz continues to pound the strike zone as she sits 35th in the nation in strikeouts with 58 thus far. She also ranks 26th in strikeouts per seven innings at 9.4.
In the WAC, the Purple and White continue to hold four of the top 12 spots in batting average as Germain leads the Texans ranking second in the conference. As a team, Tarleton State is in the top-two of 17 different statistical categories in the WAC.
After changes were made Wednesday to the series, the Texans will now play a single game on Friday on the campus of Utah Tech in St. George as Southern Utah's field has been deemed unplayable for the series opener. The opener is set for a 3 p.m. C.T. first pitch.
Game 2 and 3 are currently set to move back to Cedar City pending field conditions at the home of the Thunderbirds. The final two games of the series are set to get underway at 2 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. C.T. Saturday.
All time, Tarleton State holds the lead over Southern Utah 2-1 with all three games being one run contests. The Texans hold the slight advantage in runs scored 15-14. The first ever meeting saw the Red and White win 4-3 over the Purple and White before the squad from Stephenville won back-to-back games 4-3, 8-7.
Friday's game will only be available via live stats due to the location change. Pending the decision for Saturday's location will decide whether the Texans will be live on ESPN+. If the series moves back to Cedar City, the final two games will air live on ESPN+ and live stats will be available as well.
Following the Texans conference opener on the road, Tarleton State will head to North Texas for a mid-week matchup on Wednesday before opening their home portion of their conference games vs. UT-Arlington Friday-Saturday.
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