STEPHENVILLE, Texas - Tarleton State Baseball (21-31, 9-12 WAC) is set to face off against the Grand Canyon Lopes (30-22, 13-8 WAC) with a three-game series ranging from Thursday-Saturday at the Tarleton Baseball Complex. This will be the first meeting between these two squads since last May.

WIN AND THEY'RE IN:

• Tarleton State can clinch their ticket to the WAC Tournament with a win in any of their three games this weekend.
• The Texans can also clinch a postseason birth with a loss from Seattle U or two losses from Utah Tech.
• The Texans currently rank seventh in the conference with a 9-12 WAC record. The top eight teams make the tournament.
• The Purple and White are two games ahead of Utah Tech (7-14) and Seattle U (6-15). Each team will finish their season with a three-game series this weekend.

SERIES HISTORY:

• The Lopes lead the all-time series, 2-9.
• Last time the two squads faced off, Tarleton won 4-2 to advance to the third round of the WAC Tournament in Mesa, Arizona.
• The Texans are still looking for their first win against GCU in Stephenville.
• Last time out against the Lopes, Hunter Smith posted a team-high three hits along with two runs and an RBI.

SENIOR SPOTLIGHT:

• On Friday afternoon, Tarleton State will recognize their seniors for senior day at the Tarleton Baseball Complex.
• 12 individuals will be recognized along with their families.
• Senior Jake Burcham is the probable starter for senior day on Friday. Burcham is seven strikeouts away from achieving his 50th strikeout of the year.
• Upperclassmen who will be honored for senior night include Burcham, Ike Shirey, Hunter Smith, Sergio Guerra, Jaime Perez, Slade McCloud, Nile Foss, Tyler Olson, Lane Brewster, Trace Morrison, Ryan Beaird and Gavin Mikeska.

ACU RECAP:

• In their final road series of the season, Tarleton State outscored Abilene Christian 30-21 over the course of the weekend.
• The series was highlighted with a 11-0 run-rule win on Friday which marked the Texans' second shutout of the season.
• Both shutouts have contained performances from Brian Panneton and Aden Lucas.
• On Sunday against the Wildcats, TSU put up seven runs in the ninth inning on a scoring spurt that contained home runs from Brewster, Guerra and Rayner Heinrich.
• Trace Morrison achieved the first grand slam of his career on Friday in Abilene.

OPPONENT SCOUTING REPORT:

• Grand Canyon ranks second in the conference with a 13-8 record.
• The Lopes are 3-2 in their last five games with notable wins against No. 22 Arizona and Stanford.
• Josh Wakefield leads the team with a .371 batting average, followed by Zach Yorke with a .339.
• Grand Canyon has a combined 59 home runs this season.
• They post an overall ERA of 6.11 and are allowing a .299 batting average against them.

SERGIO THE SLUGGER:

• With two home runs against the Wildcats on Sunday, Sergio Guerra regained control of the WAC leaderboard.
• He currently leads the conference with a .721 slugging percentage.
• Over the weekend, he tied Tyson Drake for the most home runs among the team with 11.
• Guerra also ranks second on the Texans with a .346 batting average.

SLADE CONTINUES TO SHINE:

• Senior infielder Slade McCloud has the longest active hit streak on the team (nine games).
• Four of those nine games are multi-hit performances, including a three-for-four outing against Houston Christian.
• McCloud has the most steals on the team with 17 and also leads the Texans with a .350 batting average.
• He is the only member of the Purple and White to record at least 70 hits this season.

NEXT UP:

• With a single win against the Lopes this weekend, Tarleton State Baseball will head to Hohokam Stadium for a shot at the conference title repeat.