ODESSA – Tarleton finished out the regular season with a doubleheader sweep of UT Permian Basin to secure the No. 5 seed in the Lone Star Conference tournament and a quarterfinal date with Texas Woman's in the first round.
 
"I'm proud of the way we played all weekend," said head coach Mark Cumpian. "Pitching threw great and offensively we finally got back on track. Now we need to make a playoff push as we look to lock in a regional berth."
   
Tarleton book-ended a pair of big innings in the first game of Saturday's doubleheader against UT Permian Basin to earn a 9-1 victory over the Falcons and secure the series win.
 
Kayleigh Williams kept the Falcons off the board in each of the first three innings as the junior danced out of danger in each of the first three frames. The junior right-hander stranded six base runners over that span as she earned her sixth win of the season with three innings of work while striking out four.
 
After the first two batters reached in the fourth, Jordan Withrow came on in relief and escaped the jam with only one run coming across. Withrow threw the final two innings to earn her second straight save with no-hit relief and two strikeouts.
 
Meanwhile, the Tarleton offense spotted the TexAnns a quick 3-0 lead with three runs in the top of the first. A Megan Durante sacrifice fly plated the first run of the game before Avery Mullendore drove in a pair with a two-out, two-run single for the 3-0 advantage.
 
After three innings in check, the offense started things off in the seventh with a Durante single and a Savannah Stech walk. Mullendore plated both TexAnns with another two-run rip as the senior doubled to center to extend the lead to 5-1. After Mullednore scored on an error, the TexAnns added their final three runs of the game on back-to-back doubles by Alyssa Ringhausen and Nyka Wood. Ringhausen's was a two-RBI knock while Wood's drove in Ringhausen for a 9-1 advantage.
 
Withrow sat the Falcons down in order in the fifth to end the game early.
 
Every TexAnn hitter recorded at least one base hit in the game, led by Mullendore and Kadyn Kirkpatrick with two hits each. Maddie Quintanar, Kaitlyn Thomas, Ringhausen, Wood, Durante, Stech, Marisa Flores, and Meghann Wrinkle each had one hit to round out the 12-hit effort. Thomas extended her team-high hitting streak to six straight games.
   
Savannah Stech and Kadyn Kirkpatrick combined for eight RBI in the final game of the regular season as the TexAnns scored four unanswered runs to finish off the sweep of the Falcons Saturday afternoon.
 
Tarleton carried its momentum from game one with six unanswered runs over the first three innings for a dominant lead early on. Nyka Wood drove home one in the first before Kirkpatrick and Stech got their games rolling in the second with a sacrifice fly RBI from Kirkpatrick and a two-run home run from Stech to give the TexAnns an early 4-0 advantage.
 
Kirkpatrick followed up Stech's long ball with one of her own in the third when the freshman from Aledo teed off for a two-run jack to left center to extend Tarleton's lead to 6-0.
 
A couple of Tarleton errors opened the door for the Falcons in the fourth as UTPB put up a six spot in the fourth to tie the game, but the TexAnns used Meghann Wrinkle's speed to retake the lead in the fifth. The junior outfielder singled, took second on a wild pitch, stole third, and scored the go-ahead run on an error for a 7-6 lead.
 
After a scoreless sixth inning, Tarleton tacked on some insurance runs with an RBI single by Kirkpatrick and a 2-RBI double from Stech for the 10-6 lead. Jordan Withrow, who pitched the final 3.2 innings of relief, sat down the Falcons in order in the seventh to notch her 11^th win of the season. Withrow allowed one run on three hits and a walk while striking out two in her time of relief.
 
Haley Freyman earned the start and threw the first 3.1 innings, allowing five runs – four earned – on four hits.
 
Tarleton recorded 12 hits once again – which marks every game of the series ending with a 12 in the TexAnn hit column – led by five multi-hit efforts. Stech led the way with a 3-for-5 day at the plate with four RBI and a run scored while Kirkpatrick, Wrinkle, Maddie Quintanar, and Nyka Wood had two hits each. Megan Durante added one hit of her own.
 
The tournament field for next week's LSC Championship Tournament has not been finalized. Texas Woman's and Texas A&M-Commerce will play the final game of their series tomorrow. Texas A&M-Commerce can secure the No. 6 seed in the tournament with a win while a loss would allow Texas A&M-Kingsville to take the final spot. Angelo State will host the postseason tournament.
 
Tarleton will play Texas Woman's in the first round in San Angelo next weekend. Exact dates and times will be announced following the completion of the regular season.