HOUSTON – With just one regular season series remaining, the Texans are peaking at the right time.
Tarleton beat Houston Christian on Tuesday 5-2 in their final regular season non-conference tilt, winning their fourth straight game. The Texans (29-24, 12-9 WAC) have won six straight road games, finishing their true road schedule 9-10 on the year. The Huskies (20-28, 9-12 Southland Conference) lost their fifth straight game.
Grace Garcia (12-8) earned her team-leading 12th win of the year as she went the distance on Tuesday at Husky Field in Houston. She allowed two earned runs on seven hits and two walks, adding three strikeouts in seven innings. Garcia has now tied
Tristan Bridges' win total from last year for the most wins in a single-season by a Texan since Tarleton joined the NCAA Division I ranks.
Kayla Wallace started run-scoring innings three times, reaching base four times on the night. She went 3-for-3 with a walk, scoring two runs.
After Garcia sat down the first three HCU batters, Tarleton struck in the top of the second to go ahead 2-0. Wallace started the rally with a single, then moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by
Jordan Dickerson.
Morgan Medford moved Wallace to third on an infield single before stealing second. With runners on second and third, Amanda DeSario scored Wallace with an RBI single, then
Kelci Hill followed with an RBI single of her own to score Medford.
The Huskies answered with a pair of their own in the third. They loaded the bases on their first three plate appearances. Garcia threw a runner out at home on a fielder's choice for the first out, then induced a fly ball for the second out that brought a run home. HCU singled to make it 2-2 before Garcia limited the damage.
The Texans retook the lead in the fifth inning. With two outs, Wallace hit her tied-team-leading fourth triple of the year. Dickerson followed with an RBI single to boost Tarleton up 3-2.
Tarleton added insurance runs in the seventh, as Wallace started the rally for the third time.
Kaylin Ortner later scored as a pinch runner on a throwing error to make it 4-2 Tarleton, then DeSario doubled home Medford for her second RBI.
Garcia allowed just two baserunners over the final three innings, going three-up-three-down in the seventh to finish Tarleton's fourth straight close win, all by three runs or fewer.
In addition to Wallace, DeSario (two RBI, one walk), Medford (two runs) and Hill (one RBI) also had multi-hit nights. Dickerson added that RBI single, and
Austin Germain recorded two walks.
Tarleton outhit Houston Christian 10-7 and committed no errors to the Huskies' two.
The Texans have one last regular season series to play before they'll head to Phoenix for the WAC Tournament. Tarleton takes on Stephen F. Austin at home three times this weekend, starting with a doubleheader Friday beginning at 4 p.m. CT.
