ARKADELPHIA, Ark. – Tarleton's offense exploded for 10 runs Friday night against the No. 16-ranked team in the nation, Henderson State, to lead the Texans to their seventh straight season-opening win.
 
Tarleton wasted no time in getting the offense rolling as Alec Humphreys started off his senior season with double to right field. He later came in to score the game's first run on an RBI single by Zach McCown. After a Jake Hasbrouck single, the new Tarleton catcher Dalton Richardson unloaded on a three-run home run to straight away center field for a 4-0 Texan lead. Richardson ended the game 2-4 at the dish with his three RBI and run scored.
 
Two batters later, Hunter Seales also broke out the big stick in his first Tarleton at bat by going yard to cap off a five-run first inning for the Texans. Seales, a junior outfielder, finished the game 2-3 with two runs scored and an RBI.
 
After Henderson State clawed back with one run in three of the first four innings to cut the Tarleton lead to 5-3 entering the top of the fifth, Jacob Hasbrouck took advantage of an inning-opening error when the newest Texan designate hitter uncorked his first home run at Tarleton for a two-out, two-run blast to left field and a 7-3 lead. That would be one of two hits on the day for Hasbrouck, who finished 2-5 with a pair of RBI and runs scored.
 
Trevor Renfro took care of business in the bottom of the fifth by sitting the Reddies down in order and his offense continued to pile on the runs in the ensuing half inning when Landon Merka and Stacy Heinatz cashed in on back-to-back doubles for a 9-3 Tarleton lead. For Merka, it was his only hit on a 1-for-3 night while it was one of two base hits for Heinatz in his Texan debut.
 
Renfro's night was done in five innings of work as the senior earned his first win of the season after allowing three runs on five hits with three strikeouts. Callaway Kirkpatrick came on in relief and earned a save by throwing the final four innings allowing two runs – neither earned – on just three hits and two walks with a pair of strikeouts.
 
The Texans tacked on its final run of the night with Heinatz's second RBI double to make it 10-5, marking the third straight season and sixth since Tarleton reinstated baseball that a Texan team has scored double figures in a season-opening win. In season openers since 2014, Tarleton is now 3-0 by the combined score of 41-10.
 
Humphreys, Hasbrouck, Richardson, Seales, and Heinatz each had a multi-hit effort at the dish while Matt Olive, McCown, and Merka had one hit each to round out the 13-hit performance by Tarleton.
 
Since the first meeting of the series in 2008, Tarleton improves to 5-3 all-time against Henderson State, who finished last season ranked No. 12 in the national polls and opened the 2016 campaign at No. 16 in the Collegiate Baseball rankings.
 
The Texans will return to action tomorrow at noon for games two and three of the series against No. 16 Henderson State.