STEPHENVILE, TEXAS – The University of the Incarnate Word softball team will travel to Lone Star Conference rival Tarleton State for a three-game series to wrap up regular season play this weekend.  The Cardinals and the TexAnns will play a doubleheader on Friday at 5 p.m. followed by a single game on Saturday at noon at the Tarleton Softball Complex.
         
The Cardinals (30-20, 13-11) are batting .295 as a team this season.  Sophomore Victoria Silva (San Antonio/Brandeis) leads the offense with a .395 batting average, while senior Monica Acuna (San Antonio/Holmes) maintains a .386 batting average and a team high 36 RBI's and 16 doubles.
         
Senior pitcher Briana Sanchez (San Antonio/Marshall) has been an integral part to the Cardinals' success this year.  She is currently 17-10 and has picked up 180 strikeouts with a 2.35 ERA.
         
The Cardinals are on their way to setting a defensive record this season. Heading into the last week of regular season play, the Cardinals remain atop the conference in fielding percentage at .969.  If the Cardinals can maintain this percentage this weekend against Tarleton State, they will break the fielding record set back in 2010.

Currently in seventh place in the Lone Star Conference, the TexAnns (23-22 11-13,) are looking to hold onto that spot going into postseason play.  Arianna Rodriguez leads the Tarleton offense with a .381 batting average along with 37 RBI's and six homeruns.  Bailee Mauldin is one better than Rodriguez in the RBI category and also has six homers.  Randi Fentress has seen the most time on the mound this season for?the TexAnns.  She is 12-14 with 109 strikeouts and 73 walks in 147.1 innings.
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