STEPHENVILLE – Led by a game one shutout by Nathan Hickey, the Texams handled Arlington Baptist in both games of Friday's doubleheader to finish off the sweep and improve to 5-4 on the young season.
   
Nathan Hickey was superb in his home debut as the senior right-hander from Granbury carved up the Patriot lineup, allowing just five mild hits while striking out 11 with 11 strikeouts to lift Tarleton to a 5-0 victory.
 
Tarleton's offense came to Hickey's aid with solo runs over the first three innings and a two spot in the fourth.
 
The Texans scored in the first when Blake Adams came around on a Francisco Rodriguez double and an errant throw for the first run of the game. In the second, Rodriguez drove in his first official RBI of the game with a bases-loaded walk.
 
Jared McCarver sparked the offense in the third as the senior from Alvarado put his speed to use all over the base paths with a single and two stolen bases before crossing the plate on a wild pitch for a 3-0 lead. The ensuing Tarleton frame Rodriguez doubled home Adams again, this time for an RBI, and then came across to score on an RBI single through the left side from Jake Hasbrouck.
 
Rodriguez led the way with a 3-3 day at the dish with a run scored and two RBI while McCarver, Hasbrouck, and Luis Rivas had one hit each to back Hickey's gem.
   
Tarleton got an RBI from nine different Texans in the fourth inning to complete the sweep of Arlington Baptist with a 9-6 win.
 
The Texan offense was held in check on a windy afternoon but found a way to come through with a nine-run fourth inning to turn a 1-0 deficit into a 9-1 lead after four. The inning began when Jake Hasbrouck was hit by a pitch.
 
Tarleton loaded the bases on a Ruben Rodriguez walk and a Hunter Hudson single before Jake Shelby tied the game with a full-count single up the middle. Then the top four hitters in the Texan lineup coaxed bases-loaded walks for a 5-1 lead. Hasbrouck then plated another run in the same fashion he started the inning – by wearing a pitch – for a 6-1 lead.
 
The final three runs came across on an RBI single from Tyler Fowler, another bases-loaded walk from Ruben Rodriguez, and a sacrifice fly from Hudson to cap off the nine spot.
 
Meanwhile, the Patriots put up their biggest offensive output of the series with three in the sixth and two in the eighth before Eddie Avila came out of the bullpen and put an exclamation point on the weekend with a shut-down ninth. The senior closer struck out the heart of the Patriot order to seal the win for the Texans.
 
All nine players who had RBI also had one hit each – Adams, Francisco, Dylan Lemons, McCarver, Hasbrouck, Fowler, Ruben, Hudson, and Shelby.
 
On the mound, Kurt Johnson threw the first 4.2 innings and allowed four runs – three earned on three hits and five walks with three strikeouts. After one batter from Alex DeBell, Connor Flanagan came out of the pen and delivered the final out of the fifth and a clean sixth while facing the minimum.
 
Conner Fletcher threw the next two innings before giving way to Avila for his second save of the season.
 
Tarleton will remain home next weekend for a four-game series with Adams State, beginning Friday at 3 p.m. in Stephenville.