STEPHENVILLE, Texas – Tarleton State (3-4) came up short against Kansas (7-0) on Sunday afternoon, dropping game three of the series, 11-7.
Tyson Drake notched his fifth home run of the season in just seven games. Drake currently ranks among the top 10 for home runs this season across NCAA Division I baseball. The senior also leads the team in RBIs with 14.
The Jayhawks swept the series from the Texans by hitting five home runs on Sunday, including a pair from Sawyer Smith. Kansas used 13 hits to tally 11 runs while Tarleton State compiled nine hits to score its seven.
The Jayhawks reeled in three runs in the first two innings, including a two-run home run in the second.
Holt Gibson threw two scoreless innings to go with four strikeouts, leading the Texans through four innings on the mound.
After Kansas jumped to an early 3-0 lead,
Braden Gostisha looked to help the Texans cut the deficit by drawing a walk in the bottom of the fifth inning.
Rayner Heinrich followed with a double to left field, setting himself and Gostisha up in scoring position. Gostisha capitalized off a defensive miscue from the Jayhawks to bring home the first run for the Texans.
Sergio Guerra drove in Heinrich via a sacrifice fly to cut the deficit to one.
Kansas, however, put up four runs in the top of the sixth to expand their lead 7-2 thanks to a home run, a sacrifice fly and a pair of singles. The Purple and White fought back at the bottom of the seventh inning, with
Slade McCloud notching his second double of the season to advance Gostisha to third base.
Lane Brewster then drove in Gostisha for his second run of the game.
With two outs on the board,
Sergio Guerra stepped up to smash his first home run in a Texan uniform, a two-run shot that drove in McCloud. This marked Guerra's sixth RBI of the year and brought life to Tarleton State, bringing them within two runs heading into the eighth inning.
The Purple and White found themselves in a rough spot after a four-run eighth inning from Kansas. The Jayhawks used two home runs and an RBI triple to push themselves out in front by six runs.
The Texans couldn't rally back despite a two-run homer from
Tyson Drake in the ninth inning and dropped the final game of the series. The Texans continues their competition against Power 4/Big 12 opponents, traveling to Fort Worth on Tuesday to face off against TCU at 6 p.m.
