- Box Score

SAN ANTONIO – The Tarleton baseball team overcame a 3-0 deficit to sneak a victory away from No. 15 St. Mary's in their 2011 season opener.

St. Mary's was a formidable opponent for Tarleton to begin their season with, as the Rattlers entered the game with a No. 15 national ranking and coming off a season in which they advanced to the regional tournament.

Anxious to finally get the season underway, the Texans started off slow offensively against the Rattlers but soon got the bats going as they put up six runs on nine hits, all after the fourth inning.

St. Mary's struck first in the slow-paced game, scoring on an RBI double by Ryan Morrow in the bottom of the fourth inning. Morrow was then driven in on a double by Tyler Migl. Billy Richard capped off the inning when he drew a walk that plated Migl for the third run.

Finding themselves in a 3-0 hole, Tarleton finally exploded for three runs of its own in the top of the fifth. The Texans' run started with an RBI ground-out by third baseman Junnior Dishmey that drove in centerfielder Tim Rainey. Once they were able to get that first run on the board, the flood gates opened.

After an Ethan Stuckly walk loaded the bases, rightfielder Chris Casazza laced an RBI double to left field, scoring two more for Tarleton and tying the game at 3-3.

The Texans took that momentum into the sixth inning where they added another run when first baseman Zane Hensley scored after a botched play by St. Mary's resulted in a two-base error.

The Rattlers responded in the bottom half of the sixth with a run of their own, tying the game up at 4-4. St. Mary's took advantage of Tarleton's inability to throw strikes and scored on a wild pitch by Texan reliever Brandon Van Riper.

In flow with the rollercoaster second half of the game, the Texans answered in the eighth inning with a pair of RBI singles by second baseman Landon McCall and leftfielder Ethan Stuckly, the second of which came with two outs.

In the bottom of the eighth, St. Mary's got two quick outs, but was still able to get a run across after a double by Jeremy Narvaez and an RBI single up the middle by Derek Moczygemba.

Fortunately for Tarleton, closer Ryan Turner was able to come in and get the final out of the eighth, before sitting down the side in order in the ninth to clinch the game

Miguel Ramirez (1-0) was awarded the win for his inning of work in a shut-out seventh. Turner picked up the save for the Texans.

Offensively, Tarleton was led by Hille, McCall and Stuckly, all of whom recorded two hits in the game, while Stuckly, Dishmey, McCall and Casazza (2) provided the RBIs. Hille and Rainey both scored twice as well.

Defensively, Hensley had 13 putouts in the game, with McCall leading the way with five assists. As a team, the Texans didn't commit a single error in the game.

Casazza also extended his hitting streak to 15 games, dating back to last season.