STEPHENVILLE – Tarleton State Baseball secured their second conference series victory after taking the second game of the series against Seattle U.
Tarleton State (17-14, 7-7 WAC) stole Game 2 against Seattle U (7-23, 3-8 WAC) after an electric eighth inning at the plate to not only take the lead for the Texans but add five to the board for a 6-2 final.
In the bottom of the eighth, the Purple and White exploded at the plate with a five-run inning. Ike Shirey reached on an error to start things off for Tarleton State. Sergio Guerra battle back out of an 0-2 count with a single to right center advancing Shirey into scoring position. A two RBI double from Andrade set things in motion for the home team, taking the lead by a run with no outs recorded. Mason Hammonds walked and a two RBI double from Drake made way for another pair of runs. Miears put the final nail in the coffin with an RBI double to bring Drake across the plate to tally the sixth run for Tarleton State.
Matt Haley got the start on the mound for the Texans with 5.0 innings pitched, giving up one run on eight hits, one walk and two strikeouts. Reese Bassinger (W, 1-1) secured his first win as a Texan with 3.0 innings on the bump, giving up one run on five hits, one walk and a trio of strikeouts.
Peter Chronowski (L, 0-4) was the starting pitcher for the Redhawks seeing 7.0 innings on the mound, giving up four runs on eight hits, no walks and five strikeouts.
Tyson Drake led the Purple and White offensively with his seventh home run on the season. Cole Miears, Jordan Andrade and Drake each tallied a double for the home team to compile six runs on 10 hits.
Seattle U totaled two runs on 13 hits with a pair of doubles.
The first inning saw the Redhawks’ leadoff single to put a runner on early. With a pair of outs on the board, a single to right field advanced the lead runner and a third single of the inning made way for the visitors to get on the board quickly.
In the bottom of the inning with a lone out on the board, Drake came in clutch with a solo home run to answer right away for the Texans, tying it up at 1-1.
The next five innings went scoreless until Seattle U found some fire in the sixth.
In the top of the sixth, the leadoff hitter recorded the first out. A single through the right side got things rolling for the Redhawks. As the second out was recorded, another runner reached on a fielder’s choice and a hit by pitch put another runner on for the visitors. A single up the middle brought in the final run of the evening for Seattle U to give them a temporary 2-1 lead.
In the seventh inning, both the Redhawks left a pair of runners stranded with no additional runs on the board. Seattle U left on runner on in scoring postion and the Texans did the same.
In the Redhawks’ half of the eighth back -o-back outs followed by a single saw a glimpse of hope for the visitors but Trace Morrison closed the door on the inning securing the final out on a foul ball. The bottom of the eighth was all Tarleton State with all five runs coming in before Seattle U claimed an out.
The top of the ninth saw Jack Driskell take the mound and compiled three quick outs. The leadoff for the visitors struck out swinging to tally the first out for the Purple and White. A pop up followed by a second swinging strikeout sealed the deal for the Texans at 6-2.
The final game of the series will take place Sunday at 10:30 a.m. A third victory over the Redhawks in Sunday’s matchup would see Tarleton State secure their first conference sweep and their first three-game sweep of the season.
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