Texans win two of three at No. 12 St. Mary’s

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Courtesy NATE BURAL/Tarleton Athletics

 

SPECIAL TO THE FLASH

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Texans, Rattlers Split doubleheader as TSU wins series

SAN ANTONIO – Tarleton won its second series of the season against a nationally-ranked opponent by taking one of two against the No. 12 St. Mary’s Rattlers Saturday. They were actually games two and three of a series that began with a Tarleton win on Friday.

Game 2: Tarleton 3, No. 12 St. Mary’s 2
The reigning Lone Star Conference pitcher of the week kept on rolling in his first outing since striking out 12 Henderson State Reddies last weekend as Trevor Renfrokept another national power under control with a complete game win against No. 12 St. Mary’s in game one Saturday afternoon.

Tarleton got on the board first with an unearned run in the top of the second, which was quickly matched by the Rattlers in the ensuing half-inning for the only scoring over the opening four innings of action.

While Renfro continued to deal, allowing just one run on two hits and an error through the first four innings, the Texan offense broke through in the top of the fifth inning.

Senior captain Landon Thompson, in his first start of the year, led off the inning with a single into left. After a sacrifice bunt and a groundout move his pinch runner, Forrest Perron, to third base,Stacy Heinatz broke the tie with an RBI double to right field. Tarleton tacked on another when Alec Humphreys reached on an inning-extending error that ultimately cost the Rattlers another run whenLandon Merka singled to right field to score Heinatz for a 3-1 Texan advantage.

The Rattlers got one runner on in the fifth and sixth innings before Renfro danced out of danger and tacked on one in the seventh with a two-out, RBI sacrifice fly but could get nothing more off Renfro, who froze the final batter of the game for a strikeout to secure the Tarleton win.

Renfro went all seven innings, allowing five total hits and two runs. He struck out two and didn’t walk a batter.

Meanwhile, his offense supplied seven hits with two each coming from Jake Hasbrouck, Landon Thompson, and Stacy Heinatz. The Merka RBI single rounded out the Tarleton offense.

Game 2: No. 12 St. Mary’s 8, Tarleton 7 (10)

Despite having the Rattlers down to their final out, Tarleton surrendered a game-tying home run in the bottom of the ninth and a walk-off home run in the bottom of the 10th inning to drop the series finale.

The game was an offensive shootout over the opening five innings as Tarleton jumped out to a 3-2 lead after two.

Hasbrouck drove in the first run of the game with an RBI single up the middle to plate Merka, who reached on an error to make the first run an unearned one. After the Rattlers evened the score in the bottom of the first, Stacy Heinatz untied it with a two-out swing of the bat for a two-run home run to left field for a 3-1 Tarleton lead.

After the Rattlers cut the Tarleton lead to 3-2 in the bottom of the second, the offenses were kept quiet until the bottom of the fourth when St. Mary’s scored a pair to take a 4-3 lead – it’s first of the day.

Tarleton would respond in the next half-inning when Hunter Seales, Hasbrouck, and Thompson came up with RBI hits in back-to-back-to-back at bats. Seales and Thompson had RBI singles while Hasbrouck doubled to right to take the lead right back at 6-4.

The Rattlers plated two more in the next half-inning for a 6-6 lead that would carry to the top of the eighth inning.

That’s when the Texans would take the lead once again – this time on another RBI double from Heinatz.

A groundout and a foul out to start the ninth put the Rattlers down to their final out before a solo home run forced extras. A two-out double from Heinatz in the 10th couldn’t come around to score and the Rattlers ended the game with a one-out home run to left.

The Tarleton offense got 13 hits in the game, including four from Heinatz in a career day for the Texan third baseman. Heinatz also had three RBIs and a run scored for the game. Merka, Hasbrouck, and Thompson each had two hits while Humphreys, Seales, and Zach Fleet had one each.

Callaway Kirkpatrick got his first start as a Texan and went the first four innings, allowing five runs – only two earned – on three hits and two walks with a pair of strikeouts. Daniel Bogue came out of the bullpen for an inning of one-unearned-run relief.

Zach Freeman pitched 3.2 innings out of the bullpen, which were on pace to be a scoreless, no-hit effort, before the ninth-inning home run and a triple chased him from the game. Hunter Houstonpitched the final 0.2 innings before allowing the final home run.

Tarleton will return to action next weekend when the Texans make their home debut against No. 38 Emporia State at Cecil Ballow Baseball Complex, beginning Friday at 3 p.m.

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Tarleton scores twice in 11th for series-opening win

SAN ANTONIO (February 12, 2016) – Whether it’s coming at the end of a pitcher’s duel or in an offensive showcase, Tarleton has put its mental and physical toughness on display for the region and nation to see in its last two games.

Less than a week removed from getting an extra-inning walk-off single from Jake Hasbrouck to beat No. 16 Henderson State, Tarleton found itself in a similar situation Friday evening when the Texans answered the call.

Landon Thompson, a fifth-year senior and team captain, stepped off the bench to deliver a pinch-hit single into right field with two outs in the top of the ninth and the Texans trailing 8-7. The captain’s single was followed up by another two-out base knock from Zach McCown, who moved Thompson’s pinch runner Forrest Perron into scoring position.

Enter Matt Olive.

The four-year senior outfielder stepped up and delivered the game-tying blow with an RBI single back up the middle to plate Perron and tie the game at 8-8. It was Olive’s first RBI of the season.

After Hunter Houston danced around trouble over two innings of work, Tarleton went into the top of the 11th inning looking to take one final lead.

Tarleton got a leadoff single from Dalton Richardson and a one-out single from Peter McMahon, with a crucial sacrifice bunt in between from Garret Kizer, to set up first-and-third with one away. The McMahon single forced the Rattlers to dip into their bullpen.

After getting the second out right away, the St. Mary’s hurler walked Stacy Heinatz to set up base loaded and two away for senior shortstop Alec Humphreys.

Humphreys delivered.

The senior captain from Midlothian coaxed a free pass to walk home the game-winning run in a career day. Humphreys went 5-for-5 at the plate with two doubles, four RBIs, and a walk. He becomes the 14th Texan in school history with five hits in a game, which ties the school record.

Landon Merka followed up Humphreys with an RBI single of his own to tack on an insurance run and make things 10-8. Houston stayed in the game for his third inning of work and retired the side in order to secure Tarleton’s fourth win of the season.

The late inning heroics followed up a seesaw affair for the first eight innings, which started with an RBI triple from Merka in the top of the first to plate Humphreys and get Tarleton on the board first. After a three-run bottom of the first, Tarleton chipped away with another in the second on an RBI single into left field from Humphreys to make it 3-2 after an inning and a half.

Tarleton took a 5-3 lead with three in the fourth on RBIs from Heintaz, Humphreys and Merka, but the Rattlers answered back with a 2-RBI double in the ensuing half inning to tie the game at 5-5.

The teams started trading runs in the top of the seventh when Richardson plated Hunter Seales on an RBI double. After the Rattlers scored two in the bottom of the inning, Tarleton tied the game again at 7-7 on a sacrifice fly from Humphreys for RBI No. 3 on the afternoon.

A leadoff home run by the Rattlers in the bottom of the eighth put St. Mary’s on top and set up the late-inning push by the Texans.

Humphreys wasn’t the only Texan with a big day at the dish.

As a team, the Texans recorded 21 base hits on the day. Merka went 4-for-6 while Olive was 3-for-5 with a pair of runs scored. Seales, Richardson, and McCown each had two hits while Jake Hasbrouck, Thompson, and McMahon each had one.

Jacob French earned the starting nod for the Texans. In his first start since March 21, 2014, the right-hander from Kingwood gave Tarleton four innings of work over which he surrendered five runs on six hits and a pair of strikeouts. Blain Bagley, who pitched the next 2.2 innings, allowing a pair of runs on three hits, relieved him.

Troyal Yosko faced six batters in an inning of work before turning the ball over to Austin Drolette, who made his season debut, for the final out of the eighth inning. Houston earned the win by throwing the final three scoreless innings, allowing one hit and two walks with a pair of strikeouts.


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