Tarleton baseball is back in Stephenville for its final four games of the season, and that stretch begins with the Baylor Bears on Tuesday evening.
Tarleton will welcome the second Power 5 team to the Tarleton Baseball Complex this season as TCU visited on April 4 where the Texans narrowly fell 9-8.
Tarleton will be looking for its second win over Baylor after they previously took the Bears down 6-2 on April 25 for the first win over a Power 5 team in program history.
The Teams: Tarleton Texans (24-24, 8-17 WAC) vs. Baylor Bears (16-35, 6-18 Big 12)
Where: Stephenville, Texas
Stadium: Tarleton Baseball Complex
Day and Time: Tuesday at 6:30 p.m.
Streaming Platform: ESPN+
PROBABLE STARTING PITCHERS (MAY 5-7):
TAR RHP
Isiah Campa (Sr., 12.2 IP, 1-1, 7.11 ERA) vs. BU RHP
Jared Matheson (Jr., 32.1 IP, 0-1, 4.73 ERA)
Matchup Notes
• Tarleton returns home to take on the Baylor Bears on Tuesday evening in the final midweek contest of the season.
• The Texans host Baylor on Tuesday and Sam Houston this weekend as they wrap up the 2023 season. Tarleton is coming off a series at Abilene Christian where they won the series opener and then lost the following two games.
• Tarleton earned its first ever win over a Power 5 program in the first meeting between Baylor and Tarleton this season. Tarleton won 6-2 on April 25 at Baylor Ballpark.
• Baylor was swept in a series at TCU this past weekend and closes its season with a three-game series at home vs. CSU Bakersfield.
Quick Hits
•
Cris Enriquez helped the Texans to victory on Friday over ACU. The Fontana, Calif., native launched a two-run home run in a 5-5 game in the top of the ninth inning with two outs. The home run was enough to propel the Texans to a series opening win. The home run was the only hit of the series for Enriquez and could not have been timelier.
•
Jack Wagner finished the ACU series 4-11 (.363) at the plate to lead the Texans offensively. Wagner has 13 multi-RBI games, 14 multi-hit games and leads the Texans in home runs (15), RBI (55), slugging (.727), walks (26), on-base percentage (.457) and OPS (1.184).
•
Isiah Campa gets the start on the mound for Tarleton against Baylor. The senior will make his third start of the season after making his season debut on March 7, returning from an injury he sustained in 2022. He holds a 7.11 ERA in 12.2 innings pitched, having eight strikeouts to 11 walks.
•
Reece Elston tied a career-high on Sunday with five strikeouts vs. ACU. He allowed no runs in 2.2 innings, allowing a lone hit.
• Six Texans earned their degrees at the Tarleton State University commencement last Friday.
Isiah Campa, Alec Williams, Devon Patel, Peyton Hutson, Dylan Kurahashi-Choy Foo and Mason Crews all walked at Memorial Stadium before the game at ACU, becoming Tarleton State alumni.
Notables
| TEAM COMPARISON |
TARLETON |
BU |
| Batting Average |
.294 |
.254 |
| Slugging |
.454 |
.381 |
| Walks to Strikeouts |
216/361 |
214/463 |
| On-Base % |
.394 |
.351 |
| Stolen Bases-Attempts |
96-128 |
21-42 |
| Home Runs |
46 |
37 |
| Doubles |
88 |
84 |
| Triples |
16 |
13 |
| Runs Scored |
351 |
269 |
| PITCHING |
|
|
| ERA |
5.78 |
6.71 |
| WHIP |
1.59 |
1.84 |
| Opponent Batting Average |
.267 |
.304 |
| Strikeouts to Walks |
425/240 |
464/275 |
| Hit Batters/Wild Pitches |
80/51 |
68/52 |
FIRST POWER 5 VICTORY
With a 6-2 win over Baylor in Waco on Tuesday, April 25, 2023, Tarleton baseball picked up its first win over a Power 5 team in program history. The Texans took struck first in the first inning and never gave the lead up.
Piercen McElyea played a big part in the win, striking out a season-high 10 in 5.0 innings of work, walking none. McElyea threw a first pitch strike to 18 of 23 batters he faced.
STRICTLY WAC
Tarleton has had some strong performers in conference play, with four different relievers holding an under 5.00 ERA in WAC games.
Zane Badmaev has posted a 3.78 ERA and 18 strikeouts to four walks in 16.2 innings.
Zach Poe holds a 1.98 ERA in 10 appearances.
Jake Burcham has a 2.79 ERA in seven appearances,
Reece Elston has a 2.87 ERA in seven appearances.
Offensively,
Alec Williams leads the way in WAC play with a .362 average to pair with a .470 on-base percentage and 11 stolen bases.
Trace Morrison is hitting .323 and has a team-high 31 hits in league play.
Jack Wagner has driven in the most runs with 22 RBI followed by
Mason Hammonds with 14.
MOWING 'EM DOWN
Zane Badmaev has been hot as can be out of the bullpen this season for the Texans. The senior RHP has 42 strikeouts compared to just seven walks while holding a 3.21 ERA and has allowed just four run in his last 10 outings. Badmaev has walked just four batters in 16.2 innings of work in conference play. He has featured primarily late in games for Tarleton as the de facto closer.
STACKING UP IN THE WAC
Tarleton is first in stolen bases (96), second in team on-base percentage (.394) and triples (16), fourth in batting average (.294), and fourth in runs scored (351). On the pitching side the Texans are second in opponent batting average (.267), fifth in ERA (5.78).
Kooper Shook is second in the WAC with 22 stolen bases.
Jack Wagner is second in slugging (.727), fourth in home runs (15) and fourth in RBI (55),
Trace Morrison is 12th in batting average (.359).
Hunter Day is tied-10th with five wins, has the 11th best ERA (4.57).
NEXT UP
Tarleton will host the Sam Houston Bearkats in the final three games this season for Tarleton. The series will run from Thursday-Saturday with Saturday's game being senior day. First pitch Thursday is 6 p.m. on ESPN+
