Box Score OREM, Utah - Tarleton State Baseball (16-24, 4-7 WAC) emerged victorious over the Utah Valley Wolverines (25-14, 10-4 WAC) during game two at the UCCU Ballpark.
Each team had double-digit hits in the high-scoring battle. The Texans posted 13 hits while the Wolverines had 16. Tarleton State did not record an erorr while UVU had one. Additionally, each squad tallied eight strikeouts.
Brian Panneton (4-2) received the win on Friday afternoon, pitching six innings of work and registering six strikeouts. The junior pitcher has notched six or more strikeouts in four of his last six appearances.
Rayner Heinrich gave the Texans early momentum, hitting a lead-off double in the first inning. He was then scored by an RBI single from
Trace Morrison to put Tarleton State on the board early. After two consecutive singles from
Jaime Perez and
Slade McCloud that loaded the bases,
Carson Lorch hit a sacrifice fly to score Morrison. The Purple and White left the top of the first frame with a 2-0 advantage.
After Panneton held Utah Valley scoreless in the bottom of the first, Tarleton State put up five runs off four hits and two walks during the top of the second stanza. With two outs on the board, Heinrich drew a walk, followed by a single from Morrison and another walk from Perez to reload the bases. After a mound visit from the Wolverines, McCloud was hit by a pitch to keep the bases moving, making the game 3-0.
Lorch hit a two-RBI single to achieve his third RBI of the first two innings. This was followed by two RBI singles from
Braden Gostisha and
Ike Shirey that ultimately extended the Texans' lead to seven runs. Utah Valley scratched off a run in the bottom of the second inning but still trailed 7-1 heading into the top of the third.
The game remained at a stalemate until the fifth inning when McCloud blasted a double to right field, a two-RBI shot that scored Heinrich and
Lane Brewster. The Purple and White held an eight run advantage until the bottom of the sixth where the Wolverines accumulated four runs off six hits. This scoring spurt was highlighted by a lead-off home run from Landon Frei and two consecutive RBI singles from Nate Bach and Brody Block. Utah Valley capped off the inning with a single from DJ Massey that scored Bach, making the game 9-5.
Aden Lucas relieved Panneton of his duties in the seventh inning, putting down the side via a flyout and two groundouts. After a scoreless eighth inning from the Purple and White, Utah Valley cut the lead to three runs thanks to a sacrifice fly from Block that drove in Mason Strong for his second RBI of the contest.
After a lead-off walk from Heinrich, Morrison sacrificed to advance the freshman to second base. Heinrich then stole third and was driven in by an RBI single from Lorch, who notched a team-high four RBIs over the course of Friday afternoon.
Despite another run from Utah Valley in the bottom of the ninth, the Texans were able to close out the win and ultimately evened the series up on a 10-7 victory. The Purple and White will look to achieve the series win on Saturday at 12 p.m. CT.
