STEPHENVILLE – The reigning Lone Star Conference Hitter of the Week,
Stacy Heinatz, got the job done with one out and the bases loaded in the 10
th inning to deliver a win in game one of Saturday's doubleheader with No. 30 Emporia State.
Game 1: Tarleton 3, No. 30 Emporia State 2
With one out and the bases loaded,
Stacy Heinatz stepped up and delivered a deep fly ball to straight away center field to bring home
Zach McCown in the bottom of the 10
th for Tarleton's sixth win of the season.
After McCown reached on a wild-pitch strikeout, Matt Olive stepped in and ripped a base hit into left center field. After pinch hitter
Trevor Inman coaxed a walk to load the bases, Heinatz battled back from a two-strike count to lift the fly ball deep enough to bring home McCown for the win.
The exciting finish was set-up by a gem hurled by Tarleton starter
Trevor Renfro. Renfro tossed seven innings and struck out 11, allowing just four hits and two runs on one walk. A two-RBI double by Emporia State in the seventh was the only blemish on the visiting run column for the game.
The Texans got their scoring started with one in the fifth on a sacrifice fly by
Alec Humphreys and then added the second run in the sixth on
Landon Thompson's second home run in as many games. Thompson also went deep in yesterday's game.
Tarleton had nine hits in the win, including two each from
Landon Merka and Thompson. Humphreys, McCpwn,
Garret Kizer, Olive, and
Peter McMahon had the rest of the Tarleton hits.
Game 2: No. 30 Emporia State 14, Tarleton 8
In the series finale, Tarleton couldn't overcome an eight-run fifth inning en route to a 14-9 loss.
The Texans got the scoring started in the first with an RBI single from Kizer, but that would be it through the next three innings as Emporia State tied it with one in the second and three in the third for a 4-1 lead. After a scoreless fourth, Emporia put up an eight spot, despite having just five hits to lead 12-1.
Tarleton showed its toughness, however, by battling back with four in the ensuing half inning on an RBI fielder's choice from Merka and a three-run bomb off the bat of
Jake Hasbrouck, which is his team-leading fourth home run of the season.
After Emporia scored one in the sixth, Tarleton answered with another four spot in the sixth on a pair of RBI groundouts, an RBI hit by pitch with the bases loaded and an unearned run on a throwing error from the catcher to bring the score to 13-9. The Hornets added one more in the seventh while the Texans didn't score again in the seven-inning series finale.
Hasbrouck had a four-RBI day, going 1-for-2 at the dish. Meanwhile,
Zach Fleet went 2-for-2 while Thompson, Kizer, and Heinatz had the remainder of Tarleton's six hits.
Tarleton will return to action next month with a March 4 visit to Canyon to begin Lone Star Conference action against West Texas A&M.
