STEPHENVILLE – Tarleton rode a complete game pitching performance from Callaway Kirkpatrick to a win in game one to win the series in a Monday afternoon split with Eastern New Mexico.
  
A five-run fifth inning from the Texan offense was more than enough run support for starting pitcher Callaway Kirkpatrick in the first game of Monday's doubleheader as the senior from Aledo went the distance in a 7-3 win to secure a series win over the Hounds.
 
Eastern New Mexico's offense, which was dominated by Kirkpatrick for most of the day, all came on one swing of the bat in the top of the fourth with a bases-loaded double to straight away centerfield for a 3-0 Greyhound lead.
 
Tarleton started to chip away with two in the ensuing half inning on an RBI infield single from Zach McCown and a sacrifice fly from Conner Wrye to cut the deficit to 3-2.
 
After Kirkpatrick sat the Hounds down in the top of the fifth without a score, the Texan offense exploded – starting with a two-RBI triple to right center from Hunter Seales that chased the Greyhound starter. Seales later came in to score the inning's third run on an error before Alec Humphreys capped off the inning with a two-run single up the middle for a 7-3 Tarleton lead.
 
Meanwhile, Kirkpatrick earned his second win of the season with seven innings of work, over which he allowed the three runs on seven hits and two walks. The senior from Aledo struck out five.
 
The Tarleton offense scored its seven runs on nine hits, including two each from Jake Hasbrouck, Seales, Garret Kizer, and McCown. Humphreys' fifth-inning single rounded out Tarleton's nine-hit effort.
  
Eastern New Mexico scored three unanswered runs in the eighth and ninth innings to hand Tarleton its only loss of the series in Monday's finale.
 
The first third of the game went by without a hitch as each pitcher put up three straight goose eggs before Eastern New Mexico struck first on an RBI groundout in the top of the fourth. Tarleton starter Blain Bagley danced around any further damage with a swinging strikeout to retire the side. Bagley threw the first five innings of game
 
Tarleton answered right back with a bang.
 
Peter McMahon, who was an early substitution into the No. 3 hole of the lineup due to injury, blasted off to deep right field for a two-run home run and a 2-1 Tarleton lead. The home run followed up a leadoff triple from Alec Humphreys.
 
The pitching duel continued through the seventh inning as Cody Nitson came out of the bullpen to provide two innings of scoreless relief in his first action on the home mound of Cecil Ballow Baseball Complex. Nitson redshirted last season as a true freshman.
 
Eastern New Mexico tied the game with the first swing of the eighth inning on a solo home run to right field off Zach Freeman. Freeman went on to retire the side with a pair of strikeouts to minimize the damage.
 
Eastern New Mexico took the lead in the top of the ninth on a one-out double down the left field line off Austin Drolette, who was saddled with the loss in his one inning of work. The Greyhounds tacked on one more before Hunter Houston came on in relief. Houston got the final two outs of the inning on a double play grounder to Humphreys.
 
Tarleton loaded the bases with two walks and a hit by pitch, but couldn't bring any more runs across in the loss.
 
McMahon led Tarleton's five-hit attack with two base hits while Landon Merka, Humphreys, and Kizer rounded out the offense.
 
Tarleton will hit the road for back-to-back LSC series away from Cecil Ballow, beginning with a four-game trip to Lawton, Oklahoma this weekend beginning Friday at 3 p.m.