- Box Score - Game 1
- Box Score - Game 2

STEPHENVILLE – The Tarleton baseball team dominated Abilene Christian in the first game of the doubleheader 15-2, before the Wildcats turned the tide for an 18-6 win over the Texans in game two.

Leftfielder Ethan Stuckly got the Texans on top early with a two-run blast to deep right-center, giving Tarleton a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first. Shortstop Travis Hayes added another run just a few batters later on an RBI double to left followed immediately by centerfielder Tim Rainey's RBI single to right, making it 4-0 in the Texans favor. Tarleton managed to bat through the entire line-up in the first inning.

Meanwhile Nathan Lewis was lights-out on the mound, giving up just a single hit through the first two innings.

Stuckly drove in his third RBI of the game with an RBI single to right, plating second baseman Landon McCall. Third baseman Junnior Dishmey kept the assault going with a two-run home run to dead center, pushing Tarleton's lead to 7-0 with no outs in the second.

ACU threatened in the top of the third with just one out and runners on first and third, but a double-play converted by a diving Travis Hayes and a leaping Landon McCall got Tarleton out of the jam unscathed.

Hayes didn't stop there though, adding a solo home run in the bottom of the third to his already spectacular play in the field. That put the Texans up 8-0, but had yet to finish their offensive attack in the inning.

As if the eight runs weren't enough, Tarleton exploded for five more runs and batted through the lineup in the third inning, putting the game out of reach for the Wildcats. ACU also committed two errors, threw a wild pitch, and recorded a passed ball that didn't help their cause.

Lewis continued to blank the Wildcats, holding them to just two hits and no runs through the first four innings.

Stuckly added insult to injury with his second home run and fifth and sixth RBI's of the game in the bottom of the fourth inning, pushing the Texans' lead to 15-0.

ACU got a consolation run in the top of the fifth with a solo shot to ruin the shutout, but the game was long gone for the Wildcats.

Stuckly led the way for Tarleton with a perfect 4-for-4 outing, six RBI's and four runs scored, while Hayes and Dishmey both had two RBI's. As a team, the Texans collected 15 hits, while giving up just five to ACU.

Lewis (3-1) was awarded the win after tossing all seven innings, giving up just two runs on five hits and striking out nine batters.

Jason Harris (0-2) suffered the loss for the Wildcats after allowing seven runs on seven hits in just one inning of work.

The Texans looked to carry over their momentum from the first game into the nightcap and jumped out to another early lead.

Mark Jeffery laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt with Stuckly on third base to give Tarleton a 1-0 lead in the first inning. The Texans threatened even more runs with runners in scoring position, but the Wildcats got out of the inning without further damage.

ACU woke up in the top of the third though with a two-out, three-run home run by designated hitter Will Calhoun that gave the Wildcats their first lead of the day, 3-1. They were able to add a fourth run in the top of the fourth inning on a throwing error by Tarleton.

Chris Casazza answered with a solo blast to deep left to lead-off the bottom of the fourth, cutting the deficit to just two runs. It marked Casazza's eighth home run of the season.

Tarleton was poised to add more runs as they loaded the bases with just one out in that same inning. Stuckly was the man again as he drove a deep fly ball to center that was caught back on the warning track, but was far enough for Hayes to tag up and score.

Dishmey drew a walk the next at-bat to load the bases once again, Tarleton's fourth free pass of the inning. Jeffery came up next and roped a clutch single just over the third baseman's out-stretched arm, driving in two runs and giving the Texans a 5-4 lead.

Tarleton's lead was short-lived though as ACU had a sacrifice bunt plate the tying run in the top of the fifth.

The Wildcats were able to take the lead in the top of the sixth after a couple of walks and hit by pitches loaded the bases before a pair of doubles put ACU up 9-5. They added another run in the inning to make it 10-5 as time started to become a factor for the Texans.

ACU was not done though as a two-run single in the seventh put Tarleton down by seven runs.

The Texans had a chance to cut down on the Wildcats' lead in the bottom of the seventh with the bases loaded, but were unable to capitalize.

ACU put up three more runs in the top of the eighth, pushing the margin to 15-5.

Tarleton would need to get at least one run in order to escape a ten-run ruling after eight innings.

They managed just that when Dishmey laced an RBI double to center field scoring McCall for run number six.

In the end, Tarleton could not mount a big enough comeback, falling to ACU in the final game of the series 18-6.

Brandon Van Riper (2-2) was saddled with the loss for the Texans after giving up seven runs, six earned, on six hits through five innings.

Jeffery anchored the offense with a perfect 2-for-2 day with three RBI's, while Dishmey, Stuckly and Casazza drove in the other Tarleton runs.

Kris Carlson picked up the win for ACU despite giving up five runs through four innings.

The Texans (17-7, 12-6) will head out on the road next to face Angelo State in San Angelo March 25 and 26.

Be sure to check back at TarletonSports.com for further information regarding the 2011 Texan baseball season.