STEPHENVILLE, Texas – It was a senior day for the ages as the Texans won the rubber game against Sam Houston 6-4 Saturday afternoon to win the series and dash the Bearkats' hopes for a WAC Championship.
 
The Bearkats entered the weekend with a 1.5 game lead over GCU for the WAC standings, but Tarleton would not be denied their first .500 season as a Division I program Saturday. The Texans won their 26^th game of the season to finish the season at .500, both are program bests since moving to Division I and the WAC in the spring of 2021. While GCU completed a sweep of CBU in Phoenix, Tarleton ripped the league title from the Bearkats' grasp in favor of the Lopes.
 
Starting pitcher Piercen McElyea (W, 3-1) went 6.0 strong innings with just two unearned runs scoring on his watch. He struck out five and walked two, exiting the game with the Texans out in front 5-2.
 
Zach Poe and Zane Badmaev (S, 4) each held the Bearkats off the board late, with the senior Badmaev picking up his fourth save of the season in his final collegiate outing.
 
Mason Hammonds and Trace Morrison each contributed three hits and an RBI apiece. Jordan Andrade added two hits, an RBI and a walk while Alec Williams scored two runs.
 
Tarleton plated a run in the first as Jack Wagner hit a sacrifice fly to left field that scored Hammonds.
 
SHSU plated two runs in the second off a Texan error to go up 2-1.
 
Tarleton used a run in the third to tie the game at two as Trace Morrison drove in a run with a single to right field. The Texans went ahead with two runs in the fourth and never looked back.
 
The Bearkats pulled within a run in the seventh as Justin Wishkoski hit a two-run double to left center field, making it 5-4 in favor of Tarleton. The Texans added a run back in the eighth as Kooper Shook scored on a wild pitch, making it 6-4.
 
This series win marked the first win and the first series win for Tarleton ever against Sam Houston and capped off a season that saw the Texans improve their win total by nine games from 2022. The 26 wins are the most for Tarleton in a season since 2018 when the Texans won 35 games and were LSC Champions.
 
Along the way in 2023, Tarleton also won their first game against a Power Five conference opponent when they defeated Baylor on April 25. Tarleton played four games against Power Five opponents this year – Baylor (2), Texas A&M, and TCU – and the Texans matched those opponents in total runs 21-21, losing two games by one run and the other by two runs while defeating Baylor by four.
 
The Texans won six of their multi-game series this season, including three against WAC opponents Sam Houston, California Baptist, and New Mexico State.