The Teams: Tarleton State Texans (20-8, 0-0 WAC) at UT Arlington Mavericks (11-16, 0-0 WAC)
Where: Arlington, Texas
Stadium: Clay Gould Ballpark (1,600)
Days and Times: Thursday at 6 p.m.; Friday at 6 p.m.; Saturday at 1 p.m.
Streaming Platform: ESPN+
 
PROBABLE STARTING PITCHERS

• Friday: TSU TBD; UTA TBD
• Saturday: TSU TBD; UTA TBD
• Sunday: TSU TBD; UTA TBD

 
QUICK HITS

• Tarleton State just beat Baylor for a second time this season on Tuesday, improving to 3-1 against Power Four teams this season, and 10-1 against teams from the SEC, Big 12 and Mountain West.
• The Texans reached 20 wins in just their 28th game of the season, their fewest amount of games needed to hit the 20-win mark in 15 years (20-7 in 2011). This is also the first time since 2013 the Texans have reached 20 wins before the month of April.
• The Texans are enjoying a four-game winning streak, their third such run this season alone. With a win on Friday, they would tie a season-long winning streak at five. The Texans haven't won six straight since 2024 (Feb. 20-27) and haven't won seven straight since 2018 (10 from April 6-21).
• This weekend is the first conference series for both Tarleton State and UTA. The Texans are looking for back-to-back WAC-opening series wins after starting their WAC run 0-4 (2021-24). 
• This past week, Tarleton State swept Air Force to improve to 7-0 against the Mountain West (four-game sweep at New Mexico March 6-8). Out of six series this year, Tarleton State has four sweeps.
• Tarleton State is 9-1 in true road games this year, with wins at New Mexico (four), Stephen F. Austin (three), No. 2 Texas (one) and Baylor (one). Tarleton State hasn't finished .500+ on the road since 2018.
• Rayner Heinrich was named WAC Player of the Week on Monday. Last week, he batted 10-for-18 (.556) with two home runs, two doubles, six RBI, seven runs scored, and one stolen base.
• TSU struck out 12 Baylor batters, recording 10+ strikeouts for the third time in the past six games.    

 
Team Comparison (Tarleton State vs. UTA)

• Batting Average (.288 to .257)
• Slugging Pct. (.463 to .361)
• BB/SO (127/238 to 113/237)
• On-Base Pct. (.392 to .360)
• SB-Att (54-68 to 27-32)
• HR (32 to 14)
• 2B (60 to 49)
• 3B (8 to 3)
• Runs (210 to 141)
• ERA (4.96 to 5.52)
• WHIP (1.40 to 1.58)
• Opp. Batting Avg. (.258 to .291)
• SO/BB (238/111 to 161/100)

 
NATIONWIDE
Across the nation (and conference), the Texans rank...
- 1st (1st) in double plays per game (1.14)
- 1st (1st) in double plays (32)
- 36th (2nd) in doubles (60)
- 37th (2nd) in doubles per game (2.14)
- 41st (1st) in triples (8)
- 54th (1st) in triples per game (0.3)
- 54th (1st) in stolen bases (54)
- 54th (3rd) in WHIP (1.40)
- 56th (2nd) in hits (282)
- 56th (2nd) in stolen bases per game (1.93)
 
BACK-TO-BACK AGAINST BAYLOR
Tarleton State spoiled Baylor's four-game winning streak on Tuesday, improving to 2-0 against the Bears this season, dropping the team from Waco to 16-12 overall, who also has nine Big 12 games under their belt (5-4). The Texans won their third game against a Power Four team this season after entering 2026 with one in program history. Now the Texans have four, three against Baylor, narrowing the all-time series to a 4-3 Baylor advantage, with two Tarleton State wins in Waco (2026, 2023).
 
Tarleton State's pitching staff shut out the Bears after allowing a home run to the first Baylor batter of the game, allowing just the single run, five hits and one walk, with 12 strikeouts. LHP Ashton Bassett got the start, his first since March 7, and he dominated. He allowed just the single run on three hits, no walks, with six strikeouts across four innings, improving to 1-1 on the season. Jackson Elizondo relieved him in the fifth, facing trouble in the frame with the bases loaded and one out, but induced a double play to get out of the jam. He covered two innings, allowing no runs on two hits, a walk, with a strikeout. Andrew Hardin, Ben Bosse and Anthony Treto each pitched an inning to close out Tuesday's game, not allowing a baserunner with five strikeouts combined.
 
Cage McCloud had the big moment offensively for the Texans, belting a three-run home run in the second inning to turn a 1-0 deficit into a 3-1 Texan lead. That was his fourth home run of the season, now tied-second most on the team.
 
Earlier this year, the Texans beat the Bears 6-5 in front of packed house in Stephenville. After trailing early, Tarleton State scored three unanswered runs between inning 6-7 to take the lead for good. The Texans allowed a single baserunner in the 6th, 7th and 8th innings. Ethan Jaques earned the win with scoreless seventh and eighth innings.
 
BEST WIN EVER
Tarleton State shocked the No. 2 team in the nation on March 17, handing the Texas Longhorns just their second loss of the season with a 6-1 win in Austin, Texas. Texas entered the day tied with USC with the tied-fewest losses in the nation at one, but the Texans shut out the Longhorns over the final eight innings to earn the upset bid.
 
The Texans allowed just one run and two hits on the game to a Texas team who entered the night with the 12th best scoring mark in the nation (9.9 runs per) and the 15th best batting average (.335). Meanwhile, the Texan offense powered six runs on eight hits against a Texas pitching staff that ranked No. 3 in ERA (2.54), No. 4 in WHIP (1.04), and No. 4 in hits allowed per nine innings (6.1).
 
Texas, ranked No. 2 in the country, represents the highest ranked opponent Tarleton State has faced in program history. This midweek matchup was the fifth all-time meeting between Tarleton State and Texas, the first in nearly 30 years. The Longhorns were 4-0 all-time against the Texans, all games in Austin, with all previous games played between 1994-97.
 
The Texans used five to get the job done. Brendon Carter got the start, allowing a run in the first. Ethan Jaques took the next three and earned the victory, allowing no runs on no hits with four strikeouts and two walks. Jackson Elizondo took the fifth, allowing no runs on no hits. Anthony Treto handled three, allowing no runs on no hits, with five strikeouts. Tai Phetluangsy closed, allowing no runs on one hit with a strikeout.
 
Texas earned its lone run on the second at-bat in the first, a solo home run. That was the Longhorns' only hit until the ninth, with Tarleton State seeing 34 straight Longhorn batters fail to get a hit. With two outs in the ninth inning, the Longhorns got a single.
 
Tarleton State did most of its damage in the fourth inning, turning a one-run deficit into a three-run lead with a four-run frame. Carson Lorch (2-for-3, 2 BB, run) and Slade McCloud (2-for-5, RBI, run) had multi-hit outings.
 
ROAD WARRIORS
This season, the Texans are 9-1 in road games, suffering their first loss at Lamar on March 24 after eight straight wins against New Mexico (four), #2 Texas (one) and Stephen F. Austin (three).
 
The Texans are averaging 7.7 runs per game on the road compared to opponents' 5.3 runs per game average, batting .297 to .245. Offensively, five players are batting .300+ on the road, led by Carson Lorch's .480 average (12-for-25) in six games. Chris Ricard (.429), Slade McCloud (.368), Ike Shirey (.344), and Rayner Heinrich (.342) are the others. Pitching-wise, Conner Doucet is 2-0 on the road, allowing no earned runs on three hits across six innings in three appearances. Eight different Texan pitchers have been credited with a win in Tarleton State's nine road wins.
 
One of Tarleton State's best series of the season came in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Tarleton State has had great success playing the Lobos over the past two seasons, going a perfect 8-0 against New Mexico with two four-game series sweeps in each of the past two seasons. This year it was in Albuquerque, with the Texans winning 13-11, 7-3, 15-10 and 9-7. That makes it an 11.0 runs per game series for the Texans, and they collected 54 hits across the four games. New Mexico entered the four-game series with a 12-1 overall mark.
 
AT LA MODERNA IN CLEBURNE
At La Moderna Field in Cleburne, home of the Cleburne Railroaders, on Feb. 27-March 1, Tarleton State split with Creighton and lost to Texas State. The Texans posted their third comeback victory of the year on Friday (now with seven), to beat the Bluejays 8-7 in walk-off fashion. Tarleton State allowed three runs in the first and trailed 4-1 in the fifth before stringing together a pair of three-run innings and a walk-off RBI single by Sergio Guerra in the ninth.
 
After a loss to Texas State, the Texans dropped a 12-inning affair 4-3 against Creighton in the second game. Six of Tarleton State's seven losses have been by four runs or fewer.
 
OFFENSIVE ONSLAUGHT VS. UIW
On Feb. 24, the Texans dropped 17 runs in seven innings on Incarnate Word. Tarleton State had six batters with multi-hit outings, led by a 4-for-5 day with three RBI by Slade McCloud. His brother, Cage McCloud, went 3-for-5 with four RBI and provided the walk-off run-rule three-run home run in the seventh inning. Jake Tatom went 3-for-4 with four RBI, all coming on a grand slam in the seventh inning. Sergio Guerra, Rayner Heinrich and Kendyl Johnson also had two hits apiece, combining for four doubles.
 
The Texans scored 11 runs in the seventh inning after entering the frame leading 6-5. This marks the second time this season Tarleton State has scored 10+ runs in a single inning (10 in the third inning in the season opener vs. Le Moyne on Feb. 13).
 
SEASON-OPENING SUCCESS
The Texans were 5-3 entering the College Baseball Series, marking the third time in their six D1 seasons they started 5-3 or better through eight (2023, 2024). The last time they started that hot, the Texans won the WAC Tournament, becoming the first reclassifying baseball program to win a postseason. conference tournament.
 
Tarleton State had one of the better weekends to start the college baseball season, going a perfect 3-0, outscoring Le Moyne 38-15, with a 34-24 hit advantage. The Texans scored the most runs in their season-opener in the program's modern era, dropping 20 runs in seven innings to win 20-3. They then scored 13 runs on Sunday, totaling double-digit runs twice in the three-game series and sweeping the Dolphins for their first season-opening sweep in their D1 era. Tarleton State also got it done on the bump, allowing 10 ER across the three games, owning a 3.60 ERA through the opening slate.
 
LET'S GET PERSONAL
All of the Tarleton State players have great stories and unique things about them -- here are some of the most notable...
 
#2 Ike Shirey
• Trains horses, plays golf, fishes, hunts
• Came to Tarleton State when head coach Fuller Smith came here
• Plan postgrad is to work in a fire department
 
#3 Kendyl Johnson
• Was a First Team All District WR for high school football team, chose baseball over football because love of the sport -- belives baseball is a more polished game than football, and he loves the pursuit of the small percentage of success
• Favorite movies are Marvel movies
• Favorite shows are anime related
• Favorite video games are Minecraft and Call of Duty
• Favorite memory from his time thus far at Tarleton State have been Bible studies on Fridays and the side quests he goes on with his teammates
• Plan postgrad is to play professional baseball, then be an entrepreneur
• Dad played overseas basketball (Anthony Johnson), and his cousin was part of the infamous Butt Fumble (offensive lineman Brandon Moore)
 
#4 Brady Englett
• Was born in Alabama, lived there until he was 4 years old (Mobile)
• Was a football state champion at safety in high school
• Likes to hunt, hang out with friends
• Rocky IV is favorite movie
• Favorite video game is NBA 2K
• His dad, Todd, played Single A baseball in the Pirates organization
 
#5 Jake Tatom
•  Likes to golf and fish
•  Played for Fuller Smith at Sam Houston
•  Plan postgrad is to coach high school baseball
 
#6 Carson Lorch
•  Big Star Wars fan (especially Revenge of the Sith), and also likes Marvel movies
•  Big video game player (Call of Duty, Fallout, Pokemon)
•  Favorite shows are The Walking Dead, Game of Thrones
•  Plan postgrad is to play professional baseball and then enter the sales business
 
#7 Karsen Davis
•  Is a second degree black belt in Tae-Kwon-Do, been doing it his whole life
•  Big-time golfer, has a five handicap
•  Plan postgrad is to open up a tint shop
 
#8 Rayner Heinrich
•  Goes by Baywatch
•  Likes to fish and hunt
•  Favorite movie is Step Brothers
•  Favorite video game is MLB The Show
 
#10 Matt Guthmiller
• Started getting into duck hunting
• Enjoys to play golf every now and then
• Favorite move is Fast and Furious
• Favorite show is Shooter
 
#11 Sergio Guerra
• Big hunter, sells deer on the ranch back home
• His dad played professional baseball in the Indians organization (Pete, catcher for the Double-A team)
 
#12 Raphael Smeenk
•  Plays pool and card games
•  Favorite movie is Moneyball
•  His great grandpa played professional soccer in Brazil
 
#13 Cage McCloud
•  Says he's a scratch golfer
•  Favorite show is Big Brother
•  Favorite video game is Fortnite
•  Joined the Texans to play with his brother
•  Plan postgrad is to open a business, a high-fence ranch
 
#14 Chris Ricard
•  Spends a lot of time outdoors a lot in a small town in Idaho, spends a lot of time in the mountains
•  Favorite shows are Landman, Yellowstone
•  Plan postgrad is to become a strength and conditioning coach
•  Favorite memory at Tarleton State was going to the lakehouse in Granbury with team
•  Dad is a logtruck driver, mom works with kids with special needs
 
#15 Mason Kirk
•  Getting married this summer to Lindsay after five years
•  Watches Big Brother
•  Plan postgrad is to work somewhere in finance, ideally front office of a professional sports team, will get MBA next year here at Tarleton State.
•  Favorite memory at Tarleton State was winning the WAC Tournament his freshman year, dogpiling after.
 
#17 Slade McCloud
• Hunts, fishes, golfs, takes his boxer dog Shep on walks, boxer Shep
• Favorite memory at Tarleton State was winning the WAC Tournament 
 
#18 Tai Phetluangsy
• Wakeboards sometimes, tries to golf
• Favorite movie is Fury
• Favorite show is The Pacific
• Plan postgrad is to be a collegiate coach
• Favorite memory since being here have been the Bible studies
• His dad is in the Marines
 
#19 Ethan Downum
•  Hunts a lot, fishes
•  Favorite show is Vikings or Last Kingdom
•  Favorite movie is Gladiator
 
#20 Braden Gostisha
•  Has a identical twin, Conner, who is working back home
•  Fishes, hunts, golfs
•  Favorite shows are Landman and Yellowstone
•  Favorite movie is Interstellar
 
#21 Brian Panneton
•  Used to competiveily waterski, ended his junior year in high school -- started at 5 years old, parents met on the waterski team at Texas A&M, stopped because of baseball
•  Still waterskis for fun and for good exercise
•  Cooks a lot, specialty is steak
TSU coaches and the culture
•  Plan postgrad is to play professional baseball, and then financial planning
•  Chose Tarleton State partially after lessons with Chad Fox – had an influence in him coming here
 
#23 Cullen Kickhoefer
•  Says he's a goofy guy, likes to have fun, constantly trying to have a good time and make people laugh
•  Hunts, fishes, wood work
•  Favorite shows are The Sopranos and Dexter
•  Favorite movies are Goodfellas and The Godfather
•  His uncle played basketball at Navy, cousin designs missiles for the Navy
 
#24 Aden Lucas
•  Likes to golf, play the guitar, played the last five years
•  Favorite show is Suits
•  Plan postgrad is to enter construction field and eventually become a superintendent
 
#25 Daniel Bass
•  Senior year of high school was his first season playing consistent baseball
•  Likes to bow hunt
•  Favorite show is The 100
 
#27 Ethan Jaques
• Golfs
• Favorite shows are Suits and Breaking Bad
• Interstellar is favorite movie
 
#28 Cort Lowry
•  Is big into duck hunting
•  Considers himself a cowboy, an amateur golfer, semi-pro Fortnite player
•  Plan postgrad is to be an electrician
•  Favorite memory since being here was being part of the Tarpless Texans in the football playoff games
 
#29 Conner Doucet
•  Had three heart surgeries from 18-19 years old
•  Has a dog from the shelter here, Nala – breed is lab mix
•  Favorite show is Peaky Blinders
•  Favorite movie is Hook
•  Favorite video game is Sea of Thieves
•  Considers himself a semi-pro ping pong player
 
#30 Ashton Bassett
•  Golfs, fishes, hunts
•  Has webbed toes
•  Favorite video game is NBA 2K
Favorite shows are Friends, Ted Lasso, Grey's Anatomy
•  Plan postgrad is to play professional baseball and then be an anesthesiology assistant
• His grandpa was a LHP at Miami – went onto the Mets organization, the Triple-A team (Richard Bassett)
 
#31 Anthony Treto
•  Has a ton of hobbies, likes to do as much as he can to stay out of the house (bowling, golf, fishing, hunting)
•  Favorite show is SWAT
•  Favorite movie is 300
•  Favorite memory is the Tarpless Texans and being part of the group at the football playoff games
•  Plan postgrad is to follow father's footsteps in sales, maybe work alongside him, but wants to play baseball as long as he can
 
#32 Corbin Walter
•  Used to play football, sophomore year, stopped to focus on baseball
•  Fishes and races cars sometimes
•  Favorite movie is Ford vs. Ferrari
 
#33 Kasey Swan
• Hunts, fishes, attempts to golf
• Plan postgrad is to enter the oil and gas field
 
#34 Ethan Wendel
•  Owns a lot of animals back home, dogs, cats and ducks
•  Favorite Show is Peaky Blinders
•  Favorite movie is Transformers
•  Hunts, fishes
•  Plan postgrad is to be a sports agent
 
#35 Andrew Hardin
• Likes MLB The Show
• Hunts, fishes
• Favorite movie is Moneyball
• Plan postgrad is to be a chiropractor
• Dad played college baseball at Texas Tech
 
#36 Ben Bosse
• Likes to fly fish and bow hunt
• Likes the show 1923
• Chose Tarleton State partially because of the master's program
• Plan postgrad is to study and work with wildlife, especially quail and duck habitats, wetlands 
 
#37 Carter Coffin
• Big-time outdoorsman, fishing, hunting
•Plan postgrad is to go to game warden school
 
#38 Tyson Drake
• Golfs, fishes, hunts
• Favorite memory at Tarleton State has been winning the WAC Tournament, getting to spend a week with the boys
• Plan postgrad is to get his CPA or work in the bank somewhere
• His dad is a seven-time state champion football coach (Robert Drake)
 
#39 Brendon Carter
•  Played hockey for 12 years, gave it up when he was 15 to pursue baseball -- he was a defenseman, played travel hockey, played in Dallas a lot
•  Watches a bunch of Netflix, favorite shows are Peaky Blinders and Landman
•  Favorite movie is Miracle on Ice
•  Plan postgrad is to be a physical therapist
 
#40 Matthew McCullough
•  Plays video games, hunts, fishes,
•  Has a lot of family who went to Tarleton State, including his mom and dad, who met here, and his brothers
•  Uncle played basketball at Southeastern, cousin plays basketball in Nebraska Wesleyan
 
#43 Jack Lovin
• Can play the piano, has been playing since he was 3 years old
• Likes to ski, been a lifelong skier
• Favorite show is Breaking Bad
• Favorite memory has been going to head coach Fuller Smith's lakehouse with the team and riding the jet skis
• Plan postgrad run is to run his own business
 
UP NEXT
Tarleton State will host UTSA on Tuesday at 4 p.m. at the Tarleton State Baseball Complex. The Texans will be giving away baseball koozies for early arriving fans, while supplies last.