PHOENIX – It was a wild WAC Tournament debut for the Texans, but they came out on the wrong end of the extra-inning thriller in Phoenix Wednesday, losing 10-7 in eight innings against California Baptist at the GCU Softball Field.
No. 5 seed Tarleton (30-27, 13-11 WAC) faced No. 8 seed California Baptist (28-27, 10-14 WAC) in their first ever NCAA Division I postseason conference tournament. The opening round of the event is single-elimination, and double elimination throughout the tournament after. Tarleton was knocked out of the tournament in a back-and-forth game that featured several momentum swings, just as many reviews, and literally blood, sweat and tears.
CBU opened the game with a four-spot in the first inning, chasing Tarleton starting pitcher
Tristan Bridges quickly. Five of the first six Lancer batters reached base, with two roping doubles. In the bottom half, Tarleton loaded the bases, but
Jordan Dickerson flew out to center to keep it a 4-0 game going into the second.
Tarleton's
Grace Garcia took over in the circle to begin the second inning and kept the Lancers at bay, holding them scoreless for three straight innings. In the third inning, Dickerson again went to bat with the bases loaded, and this time she delivered, mashing a grand slam over the left field wall to tie the game 4-4. Dickerson,
Austin Germain (walked),
Tristyn Trull (walked) and
Kayla Wallace (singled) all scored.
CBU got two back in the fifth to take a 6-4 lead, but Tarleton answered right back with two of their own in the bottom half. Wallace started a two-out rally with a walk, then stole second. Dickerson hit a line shot right back at the pitcher, who wore it off the face. A chaotic scene ensued as the CBU trainer needed to rush to attend a bloodied player while the ball was still in play. Wallace scored and Dickerson advanced on an error, followed by a long injury timeout. When play resumed, CBU's brand new pitcher had a routine 1-3 groundout that she airmailed, allowing Dickerson to score to tie the game 6-6.
The Lancers once again retook the lead in the sixth inning, scoring on a fielder's choice when there were runners at second and third, just after Tarleton's
Kennedy Ferguson relieved Garcia in the circle. Facing the same situation with runners at second and third again, Ferguson induced two flyouts.
For the third time, Tarleton tied the game with a run in the sixth. It was another two-out rally that began with a walk, this time by Germain. Trull singled, then pinch runner
Bella Hernandez scored on an error that tied the game 7-7.
After an action packed six innings, the seventh was relatively quiet, sending the contest to extras.
The Lancers flied out to start the eighth, then hit three straight singles to take an 8-7 lead. With runners at second and third, CBU laid down a safety squeeze that Tarleton sniffed out, but an attempted 3-4-2 double play was a bit late at the plate, as CBU made it 9-7. They then doubled to make it 10-7.
In the bottom half, Trull singled to open it, but a strikeout and double play ended the game.
There were 17 combined runs, 27 combined hits and four combined errors in a three-hour marathon.
Ferguson (6-6) was tagged with the loss, allowing three earned runs on four hits in 2.2 IP with a strikeout. Garcia went 4.1 IP, allowing three earned runs on six hits with three strikeouts. Bridges went the first inning, giving up four earned runs on four hits and a walk.
Six Texans accounted for Tarleton's 13 hits, with all six players earning multi-hit games. Dickerson had five RBI thanks to her grand slam, going 2-for-4 with two runs. Wallace reached base four times, batting 3-for-4 with a walk, scoring twice. Trull also reached four times, going 2-for-3 with two walks, scoring once.
Kelci Hill (2-for-4),
Morgan Medford (2-for-4, one RBI) and Amanda DeSario (2-for-4) also had multi-hit outings.
Katy Schaefer added an RBI, and Germain had two walks and a run.
Although Tarleton's WAC Tournament run is over, their season is not quite. At 30-27, the Texans could receive a national postseason tournament invitation. Last year at 29-23 at the end of the regular season, the Texans were invited to and played in the National Invitational Softball Championships in Fort Collins, Colorado.
