EDINBURG, Texas – Tarleton fought to stave off the series sweep at UTRGV Baseball Stadium on Sunday afternoon, but UTRGV ended the game on a walk-off solo home run in the ninth inning to take the game 9-8 and complete the sweep of Tarleton.
The Texans (14-11, 1-6 WAC) outhit the Vaqueros for a second consecutive game and were clean defensively making no errors. UTRGV (15-12, 6-6 WAC) managed timely hits and kept the Texan pitching staff on its heels all game. Tarleton had four runners throw out on the base paths, two caught stealing and two picked off.
The sixth inning presented the most action on the afternoon as the two teams combined for 11 runs. Tarleton entered the inning trailing 3-2 and left it with an 8-3 lead.
The first run of the sixth inning for Tarleton came as
Dylan Kurahashi-Choy Foo walked with the bases loaded to score
Trace Morrison, tying the game at three.
Mason Hammonds continued to be a key cog in the Texan offense as his two-run double to left field gave Tarleton a 5-3 lead. In the next at bat, Edinburg native
Jaime Perez launched a ball over the left field fence for a three-run home run, his second of the season. It gave Tarleton an 8-3 lead.
The lead was erased by UTRGV in the bottom half of the sixth, as they countered with five runs of their own, tying the game at eight.
The seventh and eighth innings were scoreless for both teams. Tarleton pinch runner
Tyson Drake advanced to third base in the top of the ninth, but the Texans were unable to hit him in with two outs.
UTRGV came to bat in the ninth and the first batter, Kade York, hit a solo home run to left field on the fourth pitch he saw to end the game.
Zane Badmaev (L, 0-1) was the pitcher of record for Tarleton. He tossed an inning, allowing the winning run and giving up two hits.
Offensively, Hammonds and Perez paced the Texans. Hammonds finished with three hits and two RBI. Perez had two hits, three RBI and two runs scored.
Cris Enriquez and
Alec Williams each added two hits and an RBI a piece.
All five Texan pitchers that made an appearance allowed at least one run.
Peyton Hutson earned the start, his first as a Texan. He threw 2.0 innings allowing three runs on two hits. He struck out three and walked three.
Tarleton will return to Stephenville for its next contest as they host TCU on Tuesday. First pitch is set for 6:30 p.m. and the game will be streamed on ESPN+. It is a military appreciation game with free admission for active and retired military members.
