STEPHENVILLE, Texas – Tarleton State Baseball dropped the first midweek matchup to New Mexico State in an 11-inning battle.
Tarleton State (20-16, 10-8 WAC) fell short in the 11th inning to see New Mexico State (16-19, 4-8 C-USA) take the first midweek game with an 11-10 final on Tuesday evening.
Tarleton State took the board first, but New Mexico State relentlessly competed at the plate with five lead changes throughout the duration of the game.
Parrish Beagle got the start for the Texans with 1.1 innings on the mound, giving up five runs on five hits, no walks, and no strikeouts.
Tanner Carter (L, 0-1) secured no outs, giving up one run on one hit, two walks and no strikeouts.
Cade Swenson took the mound to get the Aggies started with 3.0 innings on the bump, giving up five runs on five hits, one walk and no strikeouts. Hayden Lewis (W, 3-3) went 3.0 innings, giving up no runs on no hits, one walk and three strikeouts.
The Purple and White finished with 10 runs on nine hits with a three-run home run from
Cris Enriquez for his third homer of the season.
Hunter Smith claimed a triple and a trio of Texans earned doubles including
Tyson Drake,
Trace Morrison, and
Sergio Guerra.
Ike Shirey secured a pair of stolen bases for the home team.
The Aggies compiled 11 runs on 15 hits with a couple of homers from Logan Gallina and a double from the left fielder, Keith Jones ll.
In the bottom of the opening inning, the Texans drew first blood as Enriquez hammered a ball over the right center wall with a pair of runners already on to bring in a trio of runs, taking the lead early at 3-0.
New Mexico State came back to the plate with a vengeance as a pair of singles were followed by Gallina's first homer of the night to tie things up with no outs recorded. With a couple of Aggies on base, a double down the right field line made way for the visitors to take the lead at 5-3.
A second home run from Gallina in the top of the third brought the lead to 6-3 in favor of NM State.
Tarleton State got back to work at the plate with a pair of runs in the bottom of the fourth. A leadoff triple from Smith was followed by a double from Morrison to bring the right fielder for the Texans home. With a lone out on the board and a couple of runners on, a groundout RBI made way for Morrison to cross the plate, putting the fifth run for the Purple and White on the board to make it a one-run ball game at 6-5.
The Texans continued to chip away at the deficit with another two-run inning to take the lead again. A leadoff single from Drake got the ball rolling for the offense. With a pair of runners on, an RBI single from Smith brought in the sixth run to tie things up. A groundout from Morrison followed, advancing the remaining pair of runners.
Kooper Shook walked to load the bases and Enriquez capitalized on a passed ball to put the home team back in front at 7-6.
In the top of the sixth, a walk followed by a pair of singles and a flyout saw an Aggie come home to tie things up yet again, this time at 7-7.
The Texans' half of the inning brought in another couple of runs. Shirey walked and stole a pair of bases to start things off for the home team. An RBI single from Drake brought Shirey home to regain the lead. Drake advanced on an error and
Cole Miears walked, adding a second Texan aboard. A flyout from Enriquez made room for Drake at the plate, bringing the total to 9-7 in favor of Tarleton State.
The bottom of the seventh saw the Purple and White reach double digits. As the leadoff for the inning was hit by a pitch, Morrison was first on the base path as Shook walked to place the lead runner in scoring position. A sacrifice bunt from the catcher,
Sergio Guerra, advanced the pair. A sacrifice bunt from Shirey brought Morrison in to make the score 10-7.
The Aggies battled back in the top of the eighth with a lone run. With two runners on and two outs recorded, an RBI single down the left field line brought in a run for the visitors. The last out followed, leaving two runners stranded to close out the inning.
Another couple came in for NM State in the top of the ninth to tie things up, forcing extra innings. One out was recorded when a single to left field was followed by a wild pitch, advancing both runners into scoring position. With the second out on the board and a pair of runners on, a walk loaded the bases, and a two RBI single kept the Aggies alive.
The 10th inning was scoreless across the board and ultimately, a pitching slump did the Texans in. As Carter took the mound, a hit by pitch put the leadoff on base for NM State. A single followed by a walk loaded the bases and another walk followed to hand the visitors the game winning run.
In the bottom of the inning, one walk saw a lone runner on base for Tarleton State with one out recorded, but the final two outs came shortly after, closing out the evening with an 11-10 final in favor of NM State.
The second midweek meeting with the Aggies will begin Wednesday at 12 p.m. at the Tarleton Baseball Complex.
