Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 STEPHENVILLE – Tarleton took No. 15 Texas Woman's down to the wire and nearly pulled out a doubleheader sweep of the Pioneers, instead the TexAnns settled for a split with the conference-leading Pioneers Tuesday.
   
The TexAnn bats scored five runs over the middle innings to back another strong home pitching performance from Brenna Hennan to give Tarleton a 6-4 win in the first game of Tuesday's twin bill.
 
The Pioneers struck first against Hennan in the top of the first with an RBI single up the middle to take a 1-0 lead. Hennan stranded a pair of runners in scoring position to keep the deficit at one.
 
The offense knotted the score in the bottom of the third after Melody Mayse led off the inning with a double and moved to third on a wild pitch. Kelsey Latta drove in the freshman outfielder with a sacrifice fly to center to tie the game at 1-1.
 
TWU answered right back with one more on an RBI single to left to take a 2-1 lead.
 
In the bottom of the fourth, Tanner Pipkin ripped an RBI double to plate Amber Clifford and tie the game at 2-2.
 
Three batters later with the bases loaded, Arianna Rodriguez laced a shot back up the middle to put Tarleton on top for the first time with a 2-RBI single. In the sixth, Tarleton added two more on RBI singles from Bailee Mauldin and McKaylee Pittman to lead 6-2.
 
TWU tacked on two more in the top of the seventh, but could score no more as Tarleton took the win.
 
Hennan went the distance en route to earning the win, allowing four runs on 10 hits and three walks with five strikeouts.
 
The offense tallied nine hits for the game with Rodriguez (2-3) and Clifford (2-3) recording multi-hit games. Mayse, Latta, Mauldin, Pittman and Pipkin had the rest of the hits for Tarleton.
   
Bailee Mauldin ripped a two-out, 2-RBI single to right field to tie the game in the bottom of the seventh to force extras but the Pioneers came out on top in the nightcap with a 5-4 win in the ninth.
 
Texas Woman's took an early lead with one in the first on an RBI single and one in the second on a solo home run to lead 2-0 after two.
 
Tarleton pitcher Randi Fentress helped her own cause in the fourth when the junior ripped a two-out, 2-RBI double down the left field line to tie the game at 2-2. The double scored pinch runner Lauren Grisham and Pipkin.
 
TWU tacked on one in the fifth on a single and an error and one more in the top of the seventh to lead 4-2 heading into the final inning.
 
Pipkin and Fentress opened the Tarleton seventh with back-to-back singles. After two outs, Rodriguez reached on an infield single to load the bases.
 
Mauldin took the first pitch she saw from the TWU pitcher through the right side to plate Fentress and Mayse, who reached on a fielder's choice, to tie the game at 4-4. The TexAnns had a chance to win it in the seventh with runners at second and third, but a swinging strikeout took the game to extras.
 
TWU went on top with a solo home run to lead 5-4.
 
With two outs in the bottom of the ninth, Mayse on second and Rodriguez on first following an intentional walk, Mauldin had a chance to tie the game again.
 
The junior catcher went first pitch swinging and sent a hot shot up the middle. The ball was fielded by a falling pitcher, who recovered and threw the ball high to first but Mauldin was tagged out in a bang-bang play to end the game.
 
Fentress took the hard-luck loss despite pitching nine innings allowing five runs – four earned – on nine hits and no walks with five strikeouts. She was also the only TexAnn with a multi-hit game, going 3-4 at the dish.
 
Pipkin, Courtney Vroman, Clifford, Mauldin, Rodriguez and Latta had one hit each for the TexAnns.
 
Tarleton will continue its stretch run of the regular season with a three-game weekend series at Angelo State, beginning Friday night.