COLLEGE STATION – Tarleton scored two runs in the top of the ninth to force extra innings on the road at Texas A&M, but the Aggies came out on top 8-7 after a walk-off RBI single in the 10th at Blue Bell Park.
Tarleton out-hit the Aggies 12-9 but left nine runners on base in the near upset. Leading the Texan offense tonight was Wade Raburn, who continued his hot start for the Texans, recording three hits, two runs, and an RBI. It was Raburn’s second three-hit game of the season. Two other Texans had a two-hit game, Tyler Fowler and Cody Vannoy, while five Texans added one hit each on the night.
The Aggies hit a solo home run in the bottom of the first to take the early lead before Raburn got the Texans out of the inning on a stellar catch at the wall in center field to end the scoring threat.
The Texan bats were hot again in the third inning with back-to-back singles by Raburn and Fowler to get things started. Both hitters advanced on a passed ball before Colby Seltzer’s RBI ground out scored Raburn from third to even the score at 1-1.
Tarleton continued the momentum from the third inning when they plated four more runs on four hits in the fourth off of singles from Corey Young, Vannoy, Raburn, and London Green. Green’s two-run single to left gave the Texans a 5-1 lead, the largest for any team in the game.
The Texans went down in order in the top of the fifth and Texas A&M capitalized on a two-run home run by Will Frizzell, his second of the game, and three singles to score four runs in the bottom of the fifth to regain the lead, 6-5.
After a three-up, three-down sixth and seventh inning, the Texans tried to get a run across in the eighth with a single from Vannoy but couldn’t get anything else to fall. The Aggies plated another run in the bottom of the eighth, taking a 7-5 lead heading to the ninth.
Tarleton rallied in the ninth with a leadoff walk from Fowler and a pinch-hit single from Dean Frew. Both runners advanced when Blake Burns grounded out to the pitcher and Fowler scored on a wild pitch pushing it to a one-run game. Kemuel Thomas-Rivera hit a game-tying one-out single through the left side scoring Cole Antonelli, who pinch ran for Frew, and tied up the ballgame 7-7.
Ty Jones shut Texas A&M down in the bottom of the ninth to send the game to extra innings for Tarleton’s first extra-inning game of the season. The Texans were retired in order in the top of the tenth and the Aggies scored on a two-out RBI single to win the game.
Landon Cody got the start on the mound tonight and went 4.2 innings with 6 runs allowed but struck out five Aggies. Hunter Thomas relieved Cody in the fifth inning and went 1.1 innings, giving up one hit and recording a strikeout. Luke Baley went 1.0 innings with one strikeout out of the pen. Two more arms took the hill for Tarleton, Zane Badmaev and Jones. Jones went 2.1 innings with two runs allowed and two strikeouts.
Tarleton will travel to Natchitoches, Louisiana for a three-game series at Northwestern State on February 26-28.
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