STEPHENVILLE – A three-run home run from Georgia Capell to tie the single-season long ball record proved to be the game winner as Tarleton held on to defeat West Texas A&M 5-4 in the first of two games Saturday.
 
The win highlighted Senior Day at the Tarleton Softball Complex for Elizabeth Svienty, Lexi Grimaldo, Tanna Huie, Karli Herron and Amanda Conner.
 
Tarleton locked themselves into the No. 4 seed in the Lone Star Conference Championship Tournament, which will be held in Kingsville next weekend. The TexAnns will open the postseason against No. 5-seed Cameron at 1:30 p.m. Friday. With a win, Tarleton would advance to the LSC semifinals against Texas A&M-Kingsville at 6:30 p.m. that same evening. The LSC Championship game is scheduled for Saturday at 2 p.m. in Kingsville.
   
Georgia Capell turned the game on its side with a three-run home run in the bottom of the third that ultimately lifted Tarleton to a series win over No. 6 West Texas A&M Saturday.
 
The Lady Buffs struck first with solo home runs in the second and third, but Capell answered with a big blast of her own in the third to turn a 2-0 deficit into a 3-2 lead for Tarleton. The home run tied Capell with Arianna Rodriguez (18) for the most home runs in a single season by a TexAnn in program history.
 
Jordan Withrow kept the Lady Buffs off the board for the next three frames while the offense supplied two more runs of insurance in the fourth inning on a solo home run by Herron and am RBI squeeze bunt from Jessica Lee to score Grimaldo for a 5-2 lead.
 
Despite allowing two in the seventh, Withrow polished off her 20^th win of the season with a ground ball to third base. It's Withrow's second straight season of 20 wins in the pitching circle. She threw all seven innings and struck out 11, giving her 24 strikeouts in two games against the Lady Buffs this weekend.
 
Herron and Morgan Ling paced the offense with two base hits each while Svienty, Capell, Grimaldo and Lee had one hit each. Capell's three RBI were a team high.
   
Tarleton fell behind early and couldn't complete the comeback in the series finale with an 8-5 loss.
 
The Lady Buffs scored three in the first, two in the second and three in the third before Rachel Williams shut down West Texas A&M in relief the rest of the way. Williams pitched 5.2 innings of relief and allowed three runs – just one earned – while striking out three. Tristan Bridges took the loss.
 
Meanwhile, Tarleton pulled back within a run after a four spot in the second inning.
 
Morgan Ling dropped a bleeder down the right field line for a double that scored Danyel Kesselus and Herron. Then Jessica Lee plated the third run on an RBI single before Georgia Capell plated one by beating out a potential double play to extend the inning. Tarleton could get no closer than 5-4, however.
 
Tanna Huie supplied her third home run of the series in her final home at bat with a solo shot in the seventh. Huie led the team with three hits in the finale while Herron, Conner, Grimaldo, Ling, and Lee had one each.
 
Tarleton will head to Kingsville next weekend for the Lone Star Conference Championship Tournament Quarterfinals against Cameron at 1:30 p.m. Friday.