ABILENE, Texas – The score would indicate there was nothing to sweat about for Tarleton at Abilene Christian on Saturday, but the Texans used a
Tristan Bridges' gem in relief and a late offensive surge to come back and defeat the Wildcats to take the road WAC series.
The Texans (22-21, 6-6 WAC) scored 10 runs in the final two innings, 12 runs in the final three, to erase a three-run deficit to win 14-5 at Poly Wells Field Saturday afternoon. Tarleton won the last two games of the series, sinking ACU to 10-29 on the year, 4-8 in WAC play.
Bridges (7-9) earned the victory, coming on in the fourth inning and not allowing a hit or a run from there. She blanked the Wildcats over the final four innings, giving up just two walks while striking out three.
Tarleton outhit the Wildcats 14-5, with the middle of the lineup accounting for six hits and nine RBI.
Kayla Wallace went 3-for-4, plus a walk, earning an RBI and a run.
Tristyn Trull and
Katy Schaefer each recorded four RBI and each hit a home run. Trull went 1-for-2 with a walk and hit by pitch, scoring two runs. Schaefer went 2-for-5.
Kelci Hill,
Brady Rowland and
Jordan Dickerson each had multi-hit games as well. Hill scored four runs, reaching base in all five plate appearances, batting 2-for-2 with two walks and a hit by pitch. She also added an RBI. Rowland went 2-for-5 with two RBI and a run, while Dickerson went 2-for-4 with an RBI.
Kiana Gibson (one run) and Amanda DeSario (one run) also added a hit for the Texans.
Unlike the first two games, ACU struck first this time, leading off the second inning with a home run to take a 1-0 lead. Tarleton answered with two in the third, as
Morgan Medford scored on a wild pitch, followed by a Trull sacrifice fly to score Hill.
In the bottom half, ACU scored four to jump ahead 5-2. Five straight Wildcats reached, including three walks and a triple. After starting the fourth inning with a double, Tarleton starting pitcher
Grace Garcia was pulled, finishing with a line of 3.0 IP, five earned runs on five hits and four walks, with three strikeouts.
ACU led 5-2 going into the fifth inning, when Tarleton plated two to make it a one-run game. Hill started with a double, followed up by a Rowland RBI single to make it 5-3. Later, Dickerson scored
Bella Hernandez on a sacrifice fly.
In the sixth, Tarleton scored five runs all with two outs. Five straight Texans reached, with Wallace tying the game on an RBI single with the bases loaded, followed up by a Schaefer grand slam to suddenly put the Texans ahead 9-5.
In the seventh, the Texans added five more. Their first four batters reached, with Hill ending the stretch with an RBI walk. Rowland earned an RBI groundout after that, then Trull blasted a three-run shot to left center to burst the game open.
For Schaefer, it was her team-leading fifth home run of the season, and for Trull her second.
With the series in hand, Tarleton will return to Stephenville for a three-game stretch against New Mexico State. That will start with a doubleheader on Friday at 4 p.m. CT at the Tarleton Softball Complex.
