Special to The Flash
TarletonSports.com
HOUSTON (February 17, 2017) – Tarleton baseball opened up the Houston Winter Invitational with a 9-6 win over St. Mary’s on Friday at Minute Maid Park.
It’s the third straight win for the Texans (6-1), with all three wins coming against the Rattlers. This is the fifth straight season the Texans have played at the home of the Houston Astros, and have won the tournament opener in four of the last five years.
“I thought the kids did a really nice job of overcoming some adversity,” said head coach Bryan Conger. “The game was a little back-and-forth early on and they did a nice job of collecting themselves, especially in a big league ballpark.”
Tarleton got the bats rolling early and often with Blake Adams leading off the game with a single, only to steal second and third base, leading to the game’s first run on Jon Tauzin‘s line drive single up the middle.
St. Mary’s (4-4) put up a pair of runs in the second and third inning for a 4-2 lead, with Tarleton’s second run coming off Jake Hasbrouck‘s RBI single to once again score Adams. Adams went 2-for-4 at the plate with two runs scored, two stolen bases and an RBI.
The Texans went to the bullpen in the third inning to relieve starter Alex Debell, who struck out five in 2.1 innings of work, and opted with junior right-hander Nathan Hickey. Hickey (2-0) had his best performance of the young season, tossing 5.1 scoreless innings out of the bullpen while surrendering only one hit to go with a career-high six strikeouts.
“I thought Nathan was outstanding,” said Conger. “He did a tremendous job of attacking the zone and operating at a great pace. He stayed aggressive all game and kept them on their heels.”
Trailing 4-2, the Texans responded with seven unanswered runs between the third and eighth inning.
In the third, Tarleton’s bottom third of the order picked the offense up when Hunter Seales started a two-out rally on a single to center. Ben Mauseth followed with a double to center to set up Jose Reyes driving in Seales and Mauseth on a two-run double to even the score at 4. Mauseth was one of three Texans with a multi-hit performance, going 2-for-4 and two runs scored.
The Texans took the lead for good in the fourth when Francisco Rodriguez doubled off the left-field wall to lead off the inning and later scored on Tauzin’s sacrifice fly to make it 5-4.
For the second straight inning, the Texans’ leadoff man reached base and led to a run. Mauseth singled to left and stole second moments later to score on Adams’ RBI single to right. Hasbrouck added a sac fly to score Reyes for a 7-4 lead.
Hasbrouck provided some insurance runs in the eighth inning with a two-run home run to right field, his second long ball of the season. Hasbrouck finished 2-for-3 at the plate with a game-best four RBI.
The Texan bullpen of Hickey (5.1 innings), Eli McLane (0.1) and Eddie Avila (1) combined to toss 6.2 innings, giving up two hits and two runs – a ninth inning two-run homer to Donnie Perez – and struck out nine. Overall, Tarleton’s pitchers had 14 strikeouts.
Tarleton will continue its play in the Houston Winter Invitational against Central Missouri on Saturday at 2 p.m.
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