STEPHENVILLE – Tarleton split its doubleheader against Texas A&M-Kingsville on Sunday afternoon at Cecil Ballow Complex to move to 20-25 overall and 14-18 in the Lone Star Conference.
   
The Texans sent their ace, Trevor Renfro, to the mound in game one, and the senior right-hander delivered once again. Renfro (8-3) tossed his sixth straight complete game – and seventh of the season – to lead Tarleton to another win.
 
Renfro, who holds the single-season strikeout record with 89, added to his all-time total with four punch outs on the afternoon. Renfro's seven complete games are tied for second most in a single season in school history (Edwin Corps, 11, 1993).
 
The Texans gave Renfro early run support when Forrest Perron led off with a single to center and followed by stealing second and third base that lead to scoring on a passed ball for a 1-0 lead. Tarleton added another run in the second when Landon Merka scored on Zach Fleet's ground out.
 
Tarleton put the game out of reach for the Javelinas with a three-run fifth inning. The Texans had bases loaded and one out when Garrett Kizer got caught in a run down, but stayed in it long enough to force TAMUK to make an error on the play that led to two Tarleton runs. Zach Fleet followed with an RBI single to left that scored Kizer.
 
TAMUK scored its lone run in the sixth inning on a leadoff double and a pair of groundouts to drive home the run.
 
Renfro faced a bit of trouble in the seventh, as the Javelinas had runners at first and second with one out, but the senior recorded a strikeout for the second out and got the final batter to fly out to end the game.
   
A three-run home run by TAMUK in the top of the ninth was the difference in the rubber match of the series and spoiled a final comeback attempt for the Texans.
 
Tarleton jumped out to the early lead when Dalton Richardson started the second inning off with a single and would later score on Landon Merka's groundout to second. Richardson's single was the only Texan hit through the first seven innings but they still managed two runs.
 
When Kingsville took a 2-1 lead in the fifth inning, Tarleton manufactured a run in the bottom half by having Landon Merka reach second on an error and would score on Forrest Perron's sacrifice fly to tie the game up.
 
Blain Bagley started on the mound in the series finale for the Texans and pitched a career-high eight innings in the no-decision effort. Bagley struck out five and allowed three runs (two earned) on the day. Bagley struck out three of the five hitters in his final two innings of work.
 
After TAMUK's two-out, three-run home run in the ninth, Tarleton recorded four hits in the bottom of the ninth and brought home two runs. Richardson and Peter McMahon opened the inning with back-to-back singles and Landon Thompson doubled to bring them home. The Texans had runners at the corners with two outs but a strikeout ended Tarleton's chance for late-inning heroics.
 
Tarleton will travel to Angelo State for its final series of the regular season on Friday, May 6 with the opener scheduled for 6:30 p.m.