ABILENE – Tarleton Baseball dropped both games of its Division I debut on the road against Abilene Christian on Saturday at Crutcher Scott Field.
ACU had the hot bats in the season opener, topping the Texans 16-3. In the backend of the doubleheader, the Texans fell 7-2 in seven innings.
Game 1: ACU 16, Tarleton 3
Tarleton opened the first inning with a scoreless frame, as starter
Alex Pinedo got out of a bases loaded jam with an inning-ending double play. ACU got on the board first with two runs in the bottom of the second.
The Tarleton Division I record books added another chapter in the top of the third when the Texans scored its first run of the new era on a sacrifice bunt from
Tyler Fowler to score
Wade Raburn and cut the game to a 2-1 deficit.
ACU had a pair of big innings that separated the Wildcats from the Texans with six runs in the third and five more in the fifth inning.
Cody Vannoy became the first Texan to hit a home run, as the redshirt freshman catcher launched a solo shot to left center field to open the fifth inning. The Texans added its third run later in the inning after Raburn singled to left and later scored on an ACU error. Raburn went 1-for-2 at the plate with two runs and a walk.
Offensively, the Texans were able to grind out six hits, led by
Blake Burns, a preseason all-WAC selection, who went 2-for-3 with a double.
Reece Garvie and
Corey Young each added hits, with Young recording a triple to lead off the sixth.
Ryan Jacobs led the pitching staff with a team-high three strikeouts in 2.1 innings out of the bullpen.
Game 2: ACU 7, Tarleton 2
A three-run home run in the first inning for Abilene Christian set the tone early in the doubleheader finale. The Wildcats led 5-0 before the Texans got on the board in the top of the fourth when
Corey Young scored from second on a wild pitch.
In the fifth inning, Raburn and Fowler reached on a hit by pitch while
London Green had his third walk of the day to load the bases with one out.
Colby Seltzer drove home Raburn on a fielder's choice groundout to cut the deficit to 6-2 before ACU added its seventh and final run of the game in the sixth.
The Texans had a pair of hits in the game, coming from Seltzer and Young. Garvie and Green each had a pair of walks.
Zach Gagnon and
Hunter Thomas logged three strikeouts on the mound in 2.2 and 2.1 innings, respectively.
Zach Poe delivered a perfect sixth inning out the bullpen with one strikeout.
Tarleton and Abilene Christian will close out the three-game series in Stephenville on Sunday, Feb. 21 at 2 p.m. at the Cecil Ballow Complex. Attendance is limited to 50 percent capacity due to COVID 19 policies. Fans must purchase tickets in advance on TarletonSports.com/tickets.
