STEPHENVILLE – Texan Baseball secured the series win over the Vaqueros Sunday afternoon at the Tarleton Baseball Complex.
Tarleton State (22-18, 12-9 WAC) took the rubber match Sunday against UTRGV (19-17, 8-10 WAC) with a 7-2 final to secure the series victory for the Texans.
With a one-run ball game headed into the bottom of the fourth, the Purple and White came alive with a three-run inning to put the Vaqueros in their place.
Devon Patel got the start for Tarleton State with 2.0 innings on the mound, giving up one run on two hits, one walk and one strikeout. Reese Bassinger (3-1) secured his third win with 5.0 innings pitched, giving up no runs on four hits, no walks and five strikeouts.
Tyler Valdez (L, 1-3) started things off for UTRGV with 3.2 innings on the mound, giving up five runs on four hits, four walks and three strikeouts.
The Purple and White compiled seven runs on 10 hits, with a double from Cris Enriquez and a pair of stolen bases with help from Kooper Shook and Tyson Drake.
The Vaqueros finished with two runs on nine hits, with one double.
The visitors were first on the board with a lone run in the top of the second. A leadoff double, followed by a groundout advanced the lead runner to third. A flyout brought in the first run for the Vaqueros.
In the bottom of the third the Texans got to work, putting a pair of runs on the board to take the lead. A leadoff single from Sergio Guerra got things going for the home team. Ike Shirey reached on a fielder’s choice. With one out recorded, Hammonds walked, and Drake also reached on a fielder’s choice to see runners at first and third. Drake stole second to put a couple of Texans in scoring position and a two RBI single from Cole Miears brought the pair home, taking the lead for the home team.
In the top of the eighth things heated up for the visitors but the Vaqueros couldn’t finish. With one out on the board, the two-hole singled to left center and a pair of walks followed to load the bases with a 5-1 score on the board. Braydon Risley secured a strikeout looking for the second out and Hammonds claimed the third out with a toss to second base to get the Texans out of the danger zone, leaving three runners stranded for UTRGV.
Tarleton State’s half of the eighth welcome another couple of runs for some insurance. With one out recorded, Enriquez doubled to put the Purple and White in scoring position. Trace Morrison singled on a bunt and advanced to third on an error, bringing Enriquez back home for the sixth run for the home team. An RBI single from Austin Russell made way for Morrison to come home for the final run of the inning. Shook singled to join Russell on the base path and stole second, but a pair of outs followed to close out the inning.
The top of the ninth saw the Vaqueros add another to the board, but the lone run wasn’t enough to keep the visitors alive. A leadoff single was followed by a pair of outs. With the lead runner at third, an RBI single to left field made way for the second run to come in for UTRGV. A solid snag from Miears shut down the Vaqueros’ comeback, closing out the afternoon with a 7-2 final for Tarleton State.
The Purple and White will hit the road for another midweek battle. The Texans will head west for another meeting with the Wildcats of Abilene Christian Tuesday at 6 p.m.
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