STEPHENVILLE, Texas – The Tarleton Texan baseball team was feeling dangerous on Sunday as they took down UTRGV 13-3 in eight innings at the Tarleton Baseball Complex.
The win completed the series sweep over UTRGV (11-9, 2-4 WAC) for the Texans (7-12, 3-3 WAC). The sweep is the first conference series sweep Tarleton has had since moving to Division I and joining the Western Athletic Conference.
Tarleton's record now sits at .500 in conference play at 3-3 as they look ahead to an away series with Abilene Christian next weekend.
The Texan offense was once again firing on all cylinders. Five of their nine scoring plays came via a home run.
Corey Young,
Colby Seltzer,
Carter Dobrinski,
Cody Vannoy and
Dylan Kurahashi-Choy Foo all went yard for Tarleton.
Tarleton starting pitcher
Bryce Hackett (1-3) earned the win in what was his best outing of the season. The junior right-handed pitcher went 5.0 innings allowing just two runs (one earned) on six hits, striking out four Vaqueros.
Young got the scoring started in the second inning with a solo home run that just creeped over the left field wall. UTRGV tied the game at one in the fourth as Brandon Pimentel hit a solo home run. That was the last time the game was tied as the Texans responded in the bottom half of the fourth.
Seltzer led off with a solo home run to left field to make it 2-1. One batter later, Young hit a fly ball out to center field that the center fielder misplayed. Young turned on the jets and slid safely into home for an inside-the-park home run courtesy of the error.
UTRGV scored again in the fifth, but Tarleton responded with a run in the sixth and seven runs in the seventh to break the game wide open. Tarleton led the seventh inning off with a walk, single and a walk to load the bases and force Vaquero starter Jesus Aldaz out of the game.
The next at-bat Choy Foo was hit by a pitch to score a run.
London Green followed that up with an RBI single. The Vaqueros once again changed pitchers and this time Vannoy stepped up to the plate and smacked a grand slam out to left center field against his former team. It was his first home run of the season.
Choy-Foo enacted the 10-runs after seven innings mercy rule that the WAC has in place in the eighth inning. He sent a home run out to left field, once again, to score
Alec Williams and end the game.
Tarleton will not have a midweek game this week. They next play on Friday, March 25, at 6 p.m. CT in Abilene vs. ACU.
