STEPHENVILLE, Texas – Tarleton State Baseball (7-9) took both games of Saturday's slate against the New Mexico Lobos (8-8), winning 4-0 and 9-6.
Game 1: Tarleton State 4, New Mexico 0
The Texans shutout the Lobos on Saturday afternoon, tallying eight hits opposed to New Mexico's three. The Texans' bullpen notched six strikeouts while the Lobos had four.
Brian Panneton (2-1) received the start and the win for the Purple and White. Panneton totaled 4.1 scoreless innings of work, striking out three batters and only allowing two hits.
Both teams started off slow until the third inning when Tyson Drake tripled down the right field line to drive in Rayner Heinrich for the first run of the game. This marked Drake's fourth triple of the season and his 21st RBI, both team highs. Jaime Perez sacrificed to score Drake, extending Tarleton State's lead to two.
Heinrich launched a triple in the fourth inning to mark his sixth extra-base hit of the year, a two-RBI shot that brought in Trace Morrison and Carson Lorch. This made the game 4-0 in favor of the Texans.
Ryan Beaird came for the Texans to pitch the final two innings of baseball. Beaird struck out three batters in two innings, allowing no runs and completing the shutout during game one. The Texans won 4-0 in seven innings.
Game 2: Tarleton State 9, New Mexico 6
Tyler Olson (1-1) received the start and the win at the mound during game two. Olson pitched three innings, striking out three batters and allowing no runs.
The Purple and White carried over their momentum from game one, quickly loading the bases in the first inning. Carson Lorch hit a two-RBI double that scored Ike Shirey and Perez. Slade McCloud then scored on a passed ball, giving Tarleton State an early 3-0 advantage.
Hunter Smith and Drake got on base via a walk and a single to start off the second stanza. McCloud capitalized off this opportunity, launching a double that scored both Smith and Drake. Tarleton State left the second inning with a controlling 5-0 lead.
New Mexico would fight back in the fourth inning, tacking on three runs thanks to an RBI single from Karsen Waslefsky and a two-run home run from Gene Trujillo. Tarleton State responded in the fifth inning when Lorch scored Perez on a sacrifice fly. The Texans led 6-3 after five innings of play.
The Lobos registered three hits at the top of the seventh stanza to bring them within one run. The Texans responded immediately with a single from Perez and back-to-back doubles from McCloud and Lorch which accounted for two runs to make the game 8-5. Lorch scored on a passed ball to cap off the inning with a five-run lead.
New Mexico was unable to erase the deficit and eventually dropped game two, 9-6. Tarleton State will look to sweep the series on Sunday at noon for the final game of the four-game slate. Get tickets here.
