STEPHENVILLE, Texas – For the second time in three games, Morgan Medford came up with a walk-off winner for the Texans. This time against Conference USA member UTSA to give Tarleton a 4-3 win in the eighth inning.
The first three innings of the game flew by as Grace Garcia and Kenzi Schultz matched goose egg for goose egg. Garcia's first three innings came with far less danger as the Tarleton right-hander allowed only one baserunner on an error. Meanwhile, the Texans were all over Schultz but couldn't push any runs across despite two runners on in both the first and third innings.
UTSA finally broke through in the fourth with two doubles and a walk to lead off the inning. Garcia bounced back with back-to-back strikeouts but couldn't dance all the way out of danger as the Roadrunners pushed two more across on a pair of RBI singles to take a 3-0 lead and force the Texans into the bullpen. Kennedy Ferguson came on and got the final out of the inning.
Tarleton scratched back in their half with an RBI double from Brittany Coe to plate Tristyn Trull.
After Ferguson cruised through the next two innings, Tarleton knotted the score with a two-run sixth inning. DeSario led off with a double and then Trull followed with a two-bagger of her own to bring the Texans within one with a runner on second and no one out. Coe struck again with a single through the left side to force the Roadrunners into their bullpen. Two batters later, Austin Germain tied the game with a deep sacrifice fly to right.
Ferguson worked around a one-out single in the seventh and the Texans stranded two to head into extra innings for the first time this season.
Ferguson went three up, three down in her half of the eighth and then Kayla Wallace led off with a double. After Germain moved her to third with one away, Morgan Medford ripped a single over the shortstop for the walk-off win. She ripped a walk-off double Saturday against Houston to end the game early against the Cougars.
The ravenous Tarleton offense pounded out a near-season high 14 base hits in the game, led by a three-hit performance from Kelci Hill. Medford, DeSario, Trull, Coe, and Katy Schaefer had two hits apiece while Wallace's double rounded out the offense. For Coe, a 2021 transfer from UTSA, it marked her first two-hit game of the young season in a revenge game against her former team.
Ferguson earned her fourth win of the season in relief. She threw the final 4.1 shutout innings allowing just three hits and no walks. Garcia went 3.2 innings and allowed three runs on four hits and one walk while striking out four.
Tarleton will hit the road and begin WAC play for two straight weekends against the two teams atop the league standings. The Texans visit second-place Seattle U this weekend and the leader Grand Canyon in Phoenix next weekend.
