Box Score STEPHENVILLE – Tarleton Baseball dropped the series finale against Cameron 6-3 to split the four-game set on Sunday afternoon at Cecil Ballow Complex.
The Texan offense started out hot behind a solo home run to left center from catcher
Jonathan Schmitz in the first inning, but the bats fizzled out once Cameron starter Nolan Withrow found his groove on the mound.
Schmitz is riding a five-game hitting streak and leads the Lone Star Conference with a .523 batting average.
Tarleton was only able to scatter three hits – all singles – until their next offensive breakthrough in the seventh inning where they were facing a 6-1 deficit.
Withrow notched his first win of the season for the Aggies (9-14, 3-8 in Lone Star Conference play) by hurling seven solid innings, striking out seven and surrendering only one earned run.
Peter McMahon laced his second hit of the game in the seventh inning to jumpstart a late-game Texan comeback attempt. After
Landon Merka reached first on a Cameron throwing error, McMahon and Merka found themselves on second and third and in position to score.
Evan Robinson's RBI ground out and
Kevin Meredith's RBI single to left was able to shake the momentum, but that was all the runs the Texans could manufacture.
McMahon finished 2-for-4 at the plate and stole his second base of the season in the fifth inning.
The gut punch to the Texans came in the third inning when Cameron's Justin Winters lined a
Trevor Renfro fastball down the left field line for a three-run home run. Winter's finished with four RBIs for the Aggies.
Renfro (1-1) took the loss for the Texans but pitched 3.1 innings in relief while striking out four.
Tyler West led off the sixth inning for the Aggies and added a solo home run to put Cameron up 6-1.
While Tarleton's offense struggled, the backend of the Texans' bullpen provided the bright spot in the game.
Hunter Houston tossed two innings of one-hit ball and struck out four. The sophomore right-hander continues to impress on the mound with five scoreless relief appearances this season, while only giving up three hits and striking out 13 in 9.1 innings.
John Kresta threw a scoreless ninth for his second straight appearance giving up no runs.
The Texans fall to 9-8 on the season and 3-4 in Lone Star Conference play. Tarleton sits in fourth place in the LSC behind A&M-Kingsville (8-2), Angelo State (8-3) and West Texas A&M (6-6).
Tarleton will travel to West Texas A&M for a four-game series starting Friday, March 20.
