- Box Score

SAN ANTONIO – The Tarleton baseball team battled Incarnate Word in the second round of the NCAA Division II South Central region tournament Friday afternoon and were eliminated by the Cardinals by a score of 8-4.

The Cardinals were the first team to threaten with runners on first and second in the bottom of the first with just one out, but a nice 4-6-3 double play got the Texans out of the inning unscathed.

UIW broke open the game in the second with a pair of RBI singles that gave the Cardinals a 2-0 lead.

Tarleton managed a couple of base runners in the third with singles by Tim Rainey and Andrew Kapple, but were left stranded. 

In the top of the fourth, there was a scary moment for Cardinal starter Jorge Guarneros, who collided with Tarleton's Zane Hensley on a play at first and took several minutes of attention from trainers and staff with injuries to his hand and head.  Guarneros remained in the game though.

UIW added to their lead in the bottom of the fourth with another pair of RBI singles, this time off Tarleton reliever Jake Sowell.  Then a wild pitch allowed a fifth Cardinal to score, making it a 5-0 ball game.

The Texans' woes continued in the fifth as Incarnate Word loaded the bases, but Tarleton was able to escape the inning without any further damage.

A two-run home run and an RBI double by the Cardinals in the bottom of the sixth pushed Tarleton's deficit to eight runs as time started to become a factor.

Chris Casazza ended a shut-out opportunity for UIW with a solo home run to lead off the seventh inning, giving the Texans their lone run of the game.

Tarleton's comeback attempt began in the eighth when the Texans loaded the bases with just one out and Hensley hit an RBI single to make it 8-2.  Casazza followed that up with a two-run single that bounced off the UIW third baseman's chest, cutting the margin to four.

The rally would not prove to be enough though, as the Texans ended their 2011 season with an 8-4 loss to Incarnate Word.

Brandon Van Riper (0-1) was saddled with the loss for Tarleton after giving up a couple of early runs to the Cardinals.

Guarneros (1-0) was awarded the win for UIW after holding the Texans to just a single run through seven innings.

Casazza provided three of Tarleton's four RBI's, while Hensley added the other.

Head coach Bryan Conger talked about the game at the press conference.

"We knew we had to go out and compete and if you do that, you can accomplish everything," said Conger.  "We came up just short of our goals, but it was still a great season.  This was a special group of guys and they bought into what we were trying to do.  We were fortunate to have these guys."

Senior Tim Rainey also discussed the team's peformance.

"We came here ready to go and ready to compete," said Rainey.  "We put our best team on the field.  Just didn't reach our goal.  It was a great experience though and it has been great playing with these guys."

Senior Junnior Dishmey was complementary of his teammates as well.

"Having the week off threw us off, but that's no excuse," said Dishmey. "They just controlled the game better.  But coming to Tarleton from the Dominican Republic, I really was confident in my teammates and the coaches and the plans they had.  They are like my family.  We all had a common goal and fell short, but that's baseball."

Tarleton ends the season with a 35-15 record, which still makes the best winning percentage in program history.