CANYON – Tarleton State wrapped up the West Texas A&M Woodward Invitational with its third split of the weekend after drubbing Colorado State-Pueblo 10-5 and falling 7-5 to Adams State in extra innings.
 
"We did a great job of working our routines in game one," said head coach Julie Mata. "We had a personal record for quality at bats and ran the bases very well. Game two, however, was another valuable lesson for us on getting outs and executing. We gave ourselves the opportunity to win and battled to the end, so for that I am very proud."
  
The TexAnn offense exploded for a six-run third inning en route to winning the opening game of the final day 10-6 over Colorado State-Pueblo.
 
Tarleton put the pressure on from the get-go and, despite not getting any first-inning runs, showed its aggressiveness at the plate and on the bases. Tarleton got two singles, a walk and a stolen base in the opening frame to set the tone for the rest of the game.
 
Meanwhile, Shelby Hedrick kept the Thunderwolves in check over her first two scoreless innings from the circle.
 
The offense broke through in the third inning, starting with a lead-off single and stolen base from Lauren Powers. Melody Mayse ripped her second single of the game through the left side to plate Powers and put Tarleton on the board 1-0. The junior stole second and came around to score easily on an RBI double from Stech.
 
After Katelyn Conlee reached on an error to put runners on second and third with no one out, Kady Crow deposited a 2-RBI double down the left field line for a 4-0 Tarleton lead. Nyka Wood and Erika Menchaca each tripled over the next three batters to tack on the final two runs of the inning as Tarleton batted around to take a 6-0 advantage.
 
The Thunderwolves got three of the runs back in the bottom of the third and the teams traded runs in the fifth before Tarleton opened the flood gates with a three-run sixth inning.
 
Kaitlyn Thomas got the inning started with a walk and came around to score on a Crow triple into right center field. Crow was followed up with a Wood RBI double and the final run came across when Wood's pinch runner, Taylor Fitzgerald, came in to score on an error for a 10-4 lead.
 
The Thunderwolves tacked on one in the bottom of the seventh, but it wasn't nearly enough as the TexAnns went on to claim their ninth win of the season.
 
Tarleton had four players with multi-hit efforts, including a 3-4 performance from Wood with two runs scored and two RBIs. Crow went 2-4 with two runs scored and three RBIs while Mayse, Stech and Powers also had two hits each. Mikayla Stogsdill and Menchaca had the rest of Tarleton's 13 hits.
 
Hedrick pitched the first two innings, allowing three runs on two hits and five walks with one strikeout. Haley Freyman entered the game in the third inning with no outs and finished out the game on her way to her seventh win of the season. The freshman pitched the final five innings, allowing two runs – one earned – on four hits and three walks with three strikeouts.
  
In the tournament final, the teams combined for half of the games total runs in the ninth inning as Tarleton dropped a 7-5 extra-inning affair to Adams State Sunday afternoon.
 
After Alyssa Ringhausen surrendered a lead-off triple to open the game, the sophomore right-hander worked out of danger in the top of the first to keep Adams State off the board and allow the Tarleton offense to go to work in the bottom of the opening frame.
 
Melody Mayse led off the Tarleton first with a bunt single and eventually moved to third on a stolen base and a bunt single from Savannah Stech before Katelyn Conlee drove her home with a sacrifice fly for a 1-0 Tarleton lead.
 
Adams State evened things up with a run on a two-out Tarleton error in the third, but Tarleton retook the lead with a pinch-hit, RBI single from Jessie Thompson in the bottom of the fourth.
 
The Grizzlies stole the lead away in the ensuing half inning when a pair of RBI singles – one of which was unearned – put Adams State up 3-2 entering the sixth inning. Tarleton would not go down quietly, though.
 
Delaney Wayland led off the bottom of the sixth with a walk and, after moving to second base on a sacrifice bunt by Rebekah Allen, swiped third base with two outs in the inning. The freshman shortstop came in to score the tying run on an RBI single from Mayse with two away to head into the seventh knotted up at 3-3.
 
The teams swapped goose eggs over the next two innings, despite Tarleton having the bases loaded in the bottom of the eighth. Adams State answered to score four in the top of the ninth while Tarleton only got two on RBI singles from Wood and Stogsdill in the bottom of the frame.
 
Mayse led the way with a 3-5 effort at the dish while Stech, Conlee and Wood each had a pair of base hits. Stogdill, Wayland and Thompson had the rest of Tarleton's 12 hits.
 
Ringhausen suffered the loss after tossing all nine innings. The sophomore allowing seven runs – four earned – on 11 hits and two walks while striking out five.
 
Tarleton State will stay on the road for its final pre-conference tournament next weekend when the TexAnns visit San Antonio for the Rattler Invitational beginning Friday at noon against Texas A&M International.