CONWAY, Ark. – The Purple and White fell short at the plate in the first game of the series against the Bears.
Tarleton State (7-3, 0-0 WAC) dropped Game 1 of four on Friday to Central Arkansas (6-4, 0-0 ASUN) with an 8-3 final.
Piercen McElyea was the starting pitcher for the Texans with 2.2 innings pitched, giving up three runs on two hits, five walks and striking out four.
Jake Burcham (L, 0-1) took the loss for the visiting team after 3.0 innings pitched, giving up two runs on five hits, one walk and four strikeouts. Jesse Barker started on the mound for the Bears with 6.1 innings pitched, giving up three runs on five hits, two walks and four strikeouts. Mason Griffin (W, 3-0) took the win for UCA, giving up one run, no hits, one walk and three strikeouts. Hunter Alexander (S,2) claimed the save with 1.1 innings pitched, no runs, no hits, no walks and a pair of strikeouts.
Tarleton State claimed three runs on six hits.
Tyson Drake,
Mason Hammonds, and
Cole Miears each tallied an RBI on the day, with Drake and Hammonds adding a double each for the Purple and White.
The Bears tallied eight runs on 10 hits. The home team finished with three doubles and a pair of two-run home runs that ultimately tipped the game in favor of UCA.
The first two and a half innings were scoreless but the bottom of the third got the ball rolling for the home team. With the leadoff batter hit at the plate and a pair of walks, the bases were loaded for Mason King, who doubled to left field to bring in the first two runs.
Zach Poe then took McElyea's place on the mound. Another batter hit in the box saw two on for the Bears and a balk advanced the runner on first, sending in the final run of the inning for a 3-0 score with two runners left on base.
The Texans made their way on the board in the top of the fifth after
Kooper Shook took a hit in the box to see the first runner on for Tarleton State.
Ike Shirey singled to first on a bunt and a double down the right field line from Drake brought in the first run of the game for the visiting team. Back-to-back outs saw the Texans leave two stranded, heading into the bottom of the fifth down by two at 3-1.
After another scoreless inning and a half, the Purple and White tied the game up at 3-3.
Slade McCloud came in to pinch hit for the Texans catcher,
Sergio Guerra, and singled to right center to get the visitors on base. Shirey lined out for the first out of the inning and McCloud stole second to see Tarleton State in scoring position. Drake singled to right field, forcing a pitching change for the home team, to see Griffin take the mound. A double down the left field line form Hammonds brought McCloud home and a groundout from Miears saw Drake tally another run for the Texans to tie it up at 3-3.
The tie didn't last long after a double to right center placed a Bear on second and a homer from Casey Shipley put the home team up at 5-3 with no outs for the Texans. The following at bats saw a walk and a single to the left side. With two runners on for UCA, three consecutive outs for the Purple and White kept the Bears to a two-run lead, leaving two runners stranded.
The bottom of the eighth gave Central Arkansas a healthy lead with a five-run inning. A single up the middle from the leadoff hitter and another homer over the left field wall saw the Texans down by four. With the visiting team still looking for their first out, a double to left center saw UCA in scoring position. The runner at second advanced on a flyout to right field and took home on a flyout to center field. A pop up to first closed out the inning to see eight on the board for the home team and three on the board for Tarleton State with on runner left on.
In the top of the ninth, the Purple and White struggled to get their bats going with three back-to-back outs to end Game 1 with an 8-3 final.
The Texans will be back in action Saturday with a doubleheader against the Bears. Game 2 of the series will begin at 4 p.m. and Game 3 will presumably begin at 7 p.m.
