SACRAMENTO, California — Tarleton State dropped the opening game of its final regular season conference series on Thursday, falling 8-5 to Sacramento State at John Smith Field in Sacramento, California.
The Texans (33-18, 11-5 WAC) held an early four-run lead before the Hornets (25-29, 9-7 WAC) rallied late to even the series opener. Despite the loss, Tarleton State remains one win away from clinching the outright WAC regular season championship.
Tarleton State jumped out quickly, scoring two runs in the second inning and two more in the third to take a 4-0 advantage. Sergio Guerra opened the scoring with a sacrifice fly before Ike Shirey added an RBI single later in the frame. In the third, Rayner Heinrich drove in a run with a single up the middle, and another run crossed following a double play ball.
The Texans collected seven hits on the night, led by multi-hit performances from Slade McCloud and Shirey. Heinrich added an RBI, while Carson Lorch scored twice and reached base twice.
Matthew McCullough turned in a strong start on the mound, allowing just one unearned run across 4.1 innings while striking out two. Karsen Davis and Anthony Treto combined for 2.2 innings of relief, with Treto recording two strikeouts.
Sacramento State chipped away with a run in the fourth before scoring twice in both the sixth and seventh innings to take its first lead of the game at 5-4. Tarleton State answered in the eighth when Shirey delivered an RBI single to tie the game, but the Hornets responded with a three-run double from Jace Jeremiah in the bottom half of the inning to reclaim control.
Trevor Wilson (4-5) earned the win for Sacramento State after allowing one unearned run over the final two innings, while Brendon Carter (0-1) was charged with the loss after allowing three runs in the eighth inning.
Tarleton State will return to action Friday at 8 p.m. CT for game two of the series against Sacramento State in Sacramento, California.
