WACO – If you thought that Tarleton State’s win over Baylor on March 3 was a fluke, the Texans have proven you wrong. And again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again. Yes, make that a 10-1 mark for Tarleton State Baseball over teams from the SEC, Big 12 and Mountain West following the Texans’ victory at Baylor on Tuesday night.
The Texans (20-8) reached 20 wins in just their 28th game of the season, their fewest amount of games needed to hit the 20-win mark in 15 years (20-7 in 2011). This is also the first time since 2013 the Texans have reached 20 wins before the month of April.
Tarleton State spoiled Baylor’s four-game winning streak, improving to 2-0 against the Bears this season, dropping the team from Waco to 16-12 overall, who also has nine Big 12 games under their belt (5-4). The Texans won their third game against a Power Four team this season after entering 2026 with one in program history. Now the Texans have four, three against Baylor, narrowing the all-time series to a 4-3 Baylor advantage, with two Tarleton State wins in Waco (2026, 2023).
Tarleton State’s pitching staff shut out the Bears after allowing a home run to the first Baylor batter of the game, allowing just the single run, five hits and one walk, with 12 strikeouts. The Texan rotation turned in a nearly identical outing to its masterful performance in the win at No. 2 Texas on March 17 – a solo home run allowed in the first, eight shutout innings to close, with double-digit strikeouts (10 against Texas).
Left-handed pitcher Ashton Bassett got the start, his first since March 7 and his first action overall since March 15, and he dominated. He allowed just the single run on three hits, no walks, with six strikeouts across four innings, improving to 1-1 on the season. Jackson Elizondo relieved him in the fifth, facing trouble in the frame with the bases loaded and one out, but induced a double play to get out of the jam. He covered two innings, allowing no runs on two hits, a walk, with a strikeout. Andrew Hardin, Ben Bosse and Anthony Treto each pitched an inning to close out Tuesday’s game, not allowing a baserunner with five strikeouts combined.
Cage McCloud had the big moment offensively for the Texans, belting a three-run home run in the second inning to turn a 1-0 deficit into a 3-1 Texan lead. That was his fourth home run of the season, now tied-second most on the team.
The Texans added a run in each the fifth and the seventh to result in the 5-1 final. Brady Englett hit a no-doubt solo shot to left center for his first home run of the season in the fifth, and the Texans scored in the seventh on a double play with runners on the corners.
Tarleton State had nine hits on the night between six batters, with three multi-hit performances. Cage McCloud went 2-for-4 with the three-run home run. Englett went 2-for-5 with a home run, a double and two runs. Slade McCloud went 2-for-3 with a walk and a run. Kendyl Johnson, Rayner Heinrich, and Braden Gostisha scattered the other hits, with Gostisha adding a walk.
Baylor’s Cayden Baker (2-2) suffered the loss in relief by giving up the three-run home run. The Bears used eight pitchers in the game, striking out 11 Texans.
Tarleton State is now 9-1 in true road games this year, with the wins against New Mexico (four), Stephen F. Austin (three), No. 2 Texas (one) and Baylor (one).
Tarleton State will take its four-game winning streak, its third winning streak lasting at least four wins in 2026, to Arlington, Texas, to begin Western Athletic Conference play. The Texans and UT Arlington Mavericks are slated for a three-game series at Clay Gould Ballpark, with games set for Thursday at 6 p.m., Friday at 6 p.m. and Saturday at 1 p.m.
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