CANYON – Tarleton nearly pulled off the upset to open the NCAA South Central Regional Tournament against host West Texas A&M, but the TexAnns came up a run short in their comeback attempt, falling 7-6.
 
Tarleton, the No. 7 seed in the tournament, will turn around and play No. 6 Texas Woman's, who lost to No. 3 St. Mary's, in an elimination game on Friday at 4 p.m. at Schaeffer Park.
 
West Texas A&M, the No. 4-ranked team in the nation, jumped out to a 7-0 lead over the TexAnns in the first four innings. But the TexAnns gained some momentum in the final innings and had the Lady Buffs sweating out the last three innings.
 
Tarleton got its offense rolling in the fifth with a pair of singles by Avery Mullendore and Maddie Quintanar. After a passed ball, runners were at second and third for Meghann Wrinkle, who ripped a single to left field that scored the first run for the TexAnns. Nyka Wood had an RBI ground out and Wrinkle stole third and was able to score on a throwing error by the catcher to make it 7-3.
 
In the sixth, with a pair of runners on base and two outs, Mullendore tripled to right center that cut the WT lead to 7-5. Quintanar followed with another infield single that scored Mullendore to make it a one-run game at 7-6.
 
Jordan Withrow came on in relief for starter Haley Freyman in the fifth inning and threw two scoreless innings to keep Tarleton within striking distance. Withrow also had three strikeouts in the two innings of work.
 
Nyka Wood led off the seventh inning and came inches away from tying the game with a solo home run, but the ball hit the top of the fence and bounced back into play for a double. Megan Durante followed with a single to left to put runners at the corners with no outs. Durante would advance to second on a ground out to have the winning run in scoring position, but the TexAnns couldn't bring the runs home, ending the game at 7-6.
 
Tarleton had eight of its 10 hits in the final three innings, led by Wrinkle's 3-for-4 performance at the plate. Quintanar (2-for-4) and Mullendore (2-for-2) also had multi-hit games. The TexAnns out-hit the Lady Buffs 10-7 on the night.