STEPHENVILLE – In a jam-packed Sunday afternoon of softball, Tarleton State's Erika Menchaca delivered a walk-off single into left field to give the TexAnns a win in the final home game of the season and a 3-1 series win over Kingsville.
  
The afternoon started where Mother Nature intervened Saturday night as the TexAnns picked up in the bottom of the fourth with Menchaca on second and Mikayla Stogsdill at the plate, trailing 4-2.
 
After an infield single and an error loaded the bases, Taylor Fitzgerald brought Menchaca in to score with an RBI groundout before Melody Mayse blasted off to deep right field for a three-run home run to give the TexAnns a 6-4 lead.
 
Shelby Hedrick continued her dominance of the Javelinas as the junior from Forney kept Kingsville off the board for the rest of the game to earn her first win as a TexAnn. Hedrick pitched 6.2 total shutout innings of work in game two, allowing three hits.
 
Mayse and Stogdsill each went 2-3 at the plate while Menchaca and Delaney Wayland had the rest of Tarleton's hits for that game.
  
A controversial ending to game three appeared to be the only thing standing between the TexAnns and a sweep of the Javelinas.
 
After Kingsville took a 2-0 lead in the top of the second, Tarleton got one in the ensuing half inning on an RBI fielder's choice by Fitzgerald and two in the third on an error and a Nyka Wood RBI single to take a 3-2 lead.
 
The lead would be quickly surrendered, however, as Kingsville got three in the top of the fourth on a 2-RBI single and an RBI groundout to retake the lead 5-3 and score their final runs of the game as Haley Freyman kept the Javelinas off the board over the final three innings.
 
Tarleton cut the deficit to one when Lauren Powers scored on an error in the fifth to make it 5-4, which stood over the rest of the game despite a seventh-inning rally. The TexAnns loaded the bases with one out in the final half inning before controversy struck.
 
With the bases loaded and one away, Wood drove a deep fly ball to straight away center field.
 
Powers on third and Savannah Stech on second each tagged up looking to advance but the throw from center just barely got Stech, who slid head first into third base, but the home plate umpire declared the game over – indicating the out was made before Powers crossed the plate.
 
Freyman took the loss, falling to 17-11 on the season, despite tossing her 10^th complete game on the year and allowing five runs – three earned – on 12 hits and two walks with three strikeouts.
 
Powers was a perfect 3-3 at the dish with two runs scored while Wood had two hits of her own. Katelyn Conlee, Menchaca, Fitzgerald and Stogsdill rounded out the Tarleton offense with one hit each.
  
In the nightcap, Erika Menchaca ensured a victory in the final home game of the series by lacing a walk-off single in the left center gap to plate Conlee and deliver a series win for the TexAnns.
 
Brenna Hennan got the starting nod in her final home game as a TexAnn, but was forced to exit with a mild injury after just one out. Shelby Hedrick entered the game with one out and the bases loaded and got two straight outs to end a Kingsville threat and keep the game at 1-0.
 
Wood came to Hennan's rescue in the ensuing half inning and got her off the hook for a loss by tying things up with an RBI single to plate Mayse, who led off the inning by reaching on an error.
 
After Kingsville retook the lead with one in the third, Tarleton got an RBI single from Powers and a sacrifice fly from Wood to give the TexAnns their first lead of the game at 3-2. It wouldn't last, however, as Kingsville scored two unearned runs in the sixth to send the TexAnns into their final frame trailing by one.
 
With one out in the bottom of the seventh, Stech singled to left and had the awareness to take second base when the Javelina left fielder booted the ball to put the tying run in scoring position for Conlee. The Stephenville slugger came through with an RBI single to right to plate Stech and even things up at 4-4.
 
After Wood executed a flawless sacrifice bunt to get Conlee into scoring position, Menchaca delivered her third home walk-off single of the season to give Tarleton the win.
 
Hedrick earned the win with 6.2 innings of work, allowing three runs – one earned – on three hits with a walk and a strikeout. Meanwhile, all seven of Tarleton's hits at the plate came from the top five hitters as Stech and Conlee had two each and Mayse, Wood and Menchaca had the rest of the TexAnn offense.
 
The game was followed up with a short ceremony to recognize Tarleton's lone senior, Hennan, who pitched her final game in Stephenville. The nursing major from Burkburnett has been a TexAnn for the last three seasons and recorded over 200 strikeouts for Tarleton.
 
Currently holding down the No. 10 spot in the NCAA South Central Regional polls, Tarleton State will travel to Portales, New Mexico next weekend for the final series of the regular season beginning Friday.