KINGSVILLE – When Tarleton State Baseball trailed 6-3 in the sixth inning for the second consecutive game, the Texans knew it wasn't a matter of if they would come back, but a matter of when.
 
Last night, the Texans pulled off the improbable and rallied for a 7-6 victory over West Texas A&M to return to Lone Star Conference tournament championship.
 
Today, however, the magical postseason run for the Texans came to end despite rallying late to tie the game. Tarleton State fell to Angelo State 8-6 in the title game, ending their season at 22-25.
 
The Texans made their fifth appearance in the LSC championship and were looking to repeat as tournament champions.
 
Tarleton State stuck first behind five singles in the opening inning that led to two runs. Kevin Meredith drove in the game's first run on an RBI single to left.
 
Meredith finished his Tarleton State career with a 3-for-4 day at the plate, including a single in his final at-bat.
 
With four games in three days, starting pitching was limited for the Texans. Troyal Yosko got the start, which was his first start of the season after making 19 appearances out of the bullpen.
 
Angelo State matched Tarleton State with two runs in the first inning and followed with a four-run second.
 
Trevor Renfro relieved Yosko in the third to face an Angelo State lineup that scored five runs on him in two innings the day before. Renfro delivered when the Texans needed him most, tossing five straight scoreless innings to keep Tarleton within striking distance.
 
Tarleton State pounded out 18 hits in the game—the second straight game in which they did so, matching their season-high.
 
In the sixth inning when Tarleton trailed 6-3, Matt Olive led off with a single down the left-field line. Peter McMahon turned on a belt-high pitch on the inside corner for a two-run home run—his first of the season—to make it a one-run game.
 
Elijah Christenson had already lined a double earlier in the game when he led off the eighth inning. The power-hitting right-hander launched the second pitch he saw to center for a solo home run to tie the game at six.
 
Angelo State only had nine hits in the game—half of what the Texans had. But it was two singles in the bottom of the eighth and a failed pickoff attempt that led to two runs that would go on to be the game-winner for the Rams.
The Texans had three players record three hits in the game with Landon Merka and Jonathan Schmitz joining Meredith to lead the Tarleton offense.
 
Alec Humphreys, Peter McMahon and Elijah Christenson had two hits while Evan Robinson, Zach Fleet and Matt Olive rounded out the hit column with a hit each.
 
The Texans had five of the 12 spots on the Lone Star Conference All-Tournament team:
 
2B – Landon Merka
OF – Dalton Weeks
OF – Kevin Meredith
DH – Jonathan Schmitz
SP – Kyle Gottardy