GAME DAY CENTRAL
		Friday-Saturday // May 11-12 3 p.m. • 3 p.m.
		Wilder Park in Canyon
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THE GAMES
The playoffs begin this weekend for Tarleton Baseball as the Texans head into the newly-formatted Lone Star Conference Championship Tournament needing two wins to keep their season alive. Tarleton is the second-place team in the conference and earned a first-round bye. The Texans will play the winner of Texas A&M-Kingsville and UT Permian Basin in the semifinals on Friday at 3 p.m. The winner of that game will advance to the championship game Saturday at 3 p.m. All games will be played at Wilder Park in Canyon.
 
THE NEW FORMAT
This is the first year the league has invited six baseball teams to take part in the LSC Tournament, expanding from four, as well as moving to a single-elimination format. The previous years have been a double-elimination.
 
WHAT'S AT STAKE
The Texans, who are currently on the outside of the regional rankings, need to win both games of the league tournament to advance to the national playoffs for the fourth time in school history and first time since 2014. The LSC Tournament champion is an automatic qualifier out of the Lone Star Conference.
 
GAME COVERAGE
There will be live stats available for the games, courtesy of the Lone Star Conference. Links to live stats can be found at the links on the Game Day preview story and Game Day graphics on Tarleton's Facebook and Twitter pages, as well as on the team schedule page at TarletonSports.com. A live video stream will also be available courtesy of the home team.
 
JUST IN CASE
In the event of possible weather changes, follow @TarletonSports on Twitter and visit TarletonSports.com for the most up-to-date information regarding potential game-time changes throughout the weekend.
 
TICKET INFORMATION
Tickets can be purchased in advance at the WTAMU Athletics Ticket Office, located at the First United Bank Center, and will be available at the gate. For more information please contact the ticket office at (806) 651-1414. There will be three sessions throughout the weekend, with a ticket needing to be purchased for each session. There are no all-session passes available. Tickets can also be purchased at the gate the day of the games starting at 2 p.m. on Thursday and 11:30 a.m. on Friday/Saturday.
 
A LOOK AT LAST TIME OUT
Tarleton had a week off in the final weekend of the regular season. Prior to that, the Texans swept Cameron on the road to secure their second-place finish in the league standings. Evan Pontley delivered an 11-strikeout, complete-game shutout performance in game three while Ruben Rodriguez hit .500 for the weekend.
 
MILESTONE WATCH: NATHAN HICKEY
Senior Nathan Hickey is one win away from tying the single-season record of 10 pitching victories, which is currently held by Clay Snider (1988) and Andy Beckerman (1989). Hickey is also tied with Julio Jimenez for third on the school's all-time wins list (17).
 
MILESTONE WATCH: Blake Adams
Senior Blake Adams' team-first reputation has brought him close to the single-season and career records for being hit by a pitch. Adams has been hit by 24 pitches this season, which gives him the school record for the most in a year. In his career, Adams has worn 40 pitches which has him seven shy of passing Evan Robinson (46) for the all-time lead in that category. He has also moved to No. 8 all-time in Texan history with 24 home runs, which he has done in two seasons.
 
MILESTONE WATCH: Jake Hasbrouck
Senior Jake Hasbrouck is tied for the eighth-most home runs in program history alongside his teammate, Blake Adams. Hasbrouck's nine home runs this season are a career high.
 
UP NEXT FOR TARLETON
Tarleton needs to win the LSC Tournament Championship to advance to the NCAA South Central Region tournament.