STEPHENVILLE – Tarleton split a midweek doubleheader with Conference USA member UTEP in Stephenville. The victory in game one was the 750th win in program history.
Game 1: Tarleton 4, UTEP 1
Four runs of support were more than enough for Tarleton starter Kennedy Ferguson, who carved up the UTEP lineup to give the Texans a 4-1 victory for the program’s 750th win all-time.
UTEP and Tarleton traded goose eggs for the first two innings before Tarleton broke free of its offensive woes with a two-run single through the right side from Brady Rowland. Tarleton continued to tack runs on with a solo run in the fourth on an RBI double from Morgan Medford and another in the fifth with Rowland’s third RBI of the day.
Having a four-run cushion worked in Ferguson’s favor as UTEP struck for their lone run of the night with an RBI double in the sixth, but the sophomore right-hander responded by retiring the next five miners to complete the victory.
On the day, Ferguson, was spectacular.
Going the distance for the first time in her Tarleton career, Ferguson earned her fifth victory while striking out a season-high nine. She also struck out the first four batters she faced in the game. Her fifth one came with two outs in the second inning to strand runners at second and third to end a Miner threat.
As Ferguson was in complete control from the circle, the Miners managed multiple baserunners in only two of the seven innings – the second and sixth innings.
No one was stopping Brady Rowland at the plate as the sophomore was a star in her return behind the dish. Rowland led the team with a 3-3 outing and three RBI. Each of the first four hitters in the lineup – Medford, Amanda DeSario, Georgia Capell, and Katy Schaefer – had one hit each for the remainder of Tarleton’s seven hits in the game.
Game 2: UTEP 3, Tarleton 2
Stranded base runners cost Tarleton an opportunity to sweep UTEP in a Wednesday split. The Texans lost game two 3-2.
Tarleton stranded 13 base runners on the night, including leaving the bases loaded without scoring in two different innings. Brady Rowland and Katy Schaefer drove in Tarleton’s runs with RBI doubles in the first and fourth innings.
Meanwhile, UTEP chipped away with single runs in the fifth, sixth, and seventh to take the lead.
Tarleton got the tying run to third in the seventh but couldn’t keep the game alive.
Schaefer and Tristyn Trull each boasted three-hit games for Tarleton while Rowland went 2-4 with an RBI. Brady was 5-7 for the day between both games. Morgan Medford, Amanda DeSario, Hallie Saintignan, and Alexis Hoang had one hit each for Tarleton.
Reagan Chism threw the first three innings of shutout softball before giving way to the bullpen. Kennedy Ferguson, Julia Wernet, and Tristan Bridges combined for the last four innings.
Tarleton will return to WAC play this weekend with a three-game road trip to Lamar, starting with a Friday doubleheader at 4 p.m.
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