MESA, Arizona - Tarleton State Baseball (24-31, 12-12 WAC) will face off against the UT Arlington Mavericks (19-31, 11-13 WAC) during the opening round of the 2025 Western Athletic Conference Tournament.

This will be the 14th all-time matchup between the two squads, who currently rank as the number six and seven seeds among the conference. The Texans and Mavericks have never faced each other in a playoff game prior to this season.

LOOKING FOR A REPEAT:

• The Texans will look to continue their dominant play in the WAC Tournament where they won it all last year in 2024.
• The Purple and White brought back 13 returners from their championship squad.
• During last season's WAC Tournament, the Mavericks fell 8-5 in the first round while the Texans notched a 12-6 victory.
• Tuesday will serve as a single elimination game, win or go home.

SERIES HISTORY:

• The Mavericks lead the all-time series, 11-2.
• They are on a three-game win streak against Tarleton State with all three wins coming in Stephenville.
• Rayner Heinrich has a home run in two straight games against UTA, including a three-run home run that sent the ballgame into extra innings on 4/13/25.
• Last time they played the Mavs, Tarleton State had three players with three-plus hits (Sergio Guerra, Carson Lorch, Ike Shirey).
• Heinrich led the entire team with five RBIs in the series finale, followed by Guerra with three.

OPPONENT SCOUTING REPORT:

• The Mavericks rank seventh in the conference with an 11-13 record.
• Xavier Melendez leads the team with a .320 average, followed by Cade Dodson with a .318.
• Tyce Armstrong has a team-high 11 homers on the year and is the only Maverick to record double-digit home runs this season.
• Armstrong additionally leads the team with 103 total bases.
• UTA posts a 5.97 overall ERA and is allowing a .309 batting average against them.

TEAM COMPARISON:

• The Purple and White have 106 steals compared to UT Arlington's 49.
• The Texans have 64 home runs this season while the Mavericks have 52.
• UT Arlington has a lower WHIP (1.63) than Tarleton State (1.73).
• The Texans are outscoring the Mavericks this season, 423-310.

TARLETON STATE EARNS FIVE ALL-WAC PLAYERS:

• The Western Athletic Conference recognized five players from Tarleton State for their end-of-season all-conference awards on Monday afternoon.
• Slade McCloud was named to the All-WAC First Team while Ike Shirey was named to the WAC All-Defensive Team.
• Additionally, Brian Panneton, Rayner Heinrich and Sergio Guerra were all tabbed to the All-WAC Second Team list.
• McCloud finished the season with a team-high 77 hits and 20 steals.
• Guerra led the entire conference with a .738 slugging percentage.
• Heinrich compiled 64 hits and 38 RBIs during his freshman campaign.
• Panneton led the Texans in lowest ERA (3.25), strikeouts (63) and innings pitched (75).
• Shirey registered 155 assists and accounted for 30 double plays on the defensive side of the diamond.