STEPHENVILLE, Texas — Tarleton State (24-14, 4-4 WAC ) battled through tough weather conditions to earn a 3-2 victory over California Baptist (31-8, 5-3 WAC) on Saturday at the Tarleton State Baseball Complex. 

After three scoreless innings, California Baptist broke through in the fourth inning with two runs to take an early lead. The Texans responded in the bottom half of the frame when Raphael Smeenk drove in a run on a groundout, cutting the deficit to 2-1.

Tarleton State found its momentum in the sixth inning. Rayner Heinrich sparked the rally with a double down the left field line before Ike Shirey delivered an RBI double to tie the game. Later in the inning, Jake Tatom came through with an RBI single up the middle to give the Texans their first lead of the afternoon at 3-2. 

The Texans' pitching staff held strong down the stretch, retiring the final nine batters of the game to secure the victory. Tarleton State finished with six hits on the day, highlighted by a multi-hit performance from Heinrich.

On the mound, Ethan Wendel got the start, tossing five innings while allowing two runs and striking out two. Karsen Davis (4-0) earned the win in relief after throwing two shutout innings, and Anthony Treto closed the door with two scoreless innings to record his fourth save of the season. Nico Urquidi (2-2) was charged with the loss for California Baptist. 

The Texans will return to action Sunday at 12 p.m. for the series finale against California Baptist.