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Tarleton State University Athletics

WACBSBChampionsPhoto
21
Winner Tarleton State TAR 37-19
11
Sacramento State SAC 29-32
Winner
Tarleton State TAR
37-19
21
Final
11
Sacramento State SAC
29-32
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Tarleton State TAR 1 4 1 5 0 3 0 1 6 21 21 0
Sacramento State SAC 3 0 3 2 0 1 0 1 1 11 14 3

W: Treto, Anthony (3-0) L: Entz, Konner (0-2)

Game Recap: Baseball | | Grant Cohen

Tarleton State Baseball captures 2026 WAC Championship

MESA, Ariz. – For the second time in three years, Tarleton State Baseball is the Western Athletic Conference Tournament champion. 

The regular season champions and No. 1 seeded Texans defeated No. 4 seed Sacramento State 21-11 on Saturday at Hohokam Stadium. With the tournament title, the Texans clinched the WAC's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. It will be Tarleton State's first Division I NCAA Regional and first NCAA playoff since 2018. 

The program's win gave Tarleton State Athletics its eighth conference tournament title at the Division I level (Baseball - 2024, 2026, Women's Golf - 2025-26, Women's Indoor Track & Field - 2026, Tennis - 2026, Men's Golf - 2026, Men's Outdoor Track & Field - 2026). Baseball is the sixth athletic program at Tarleton State to qualify for NCAA postseason competition since the Texans were elevated to Division I (Football, Track & Field, Women's Golf, Tennis, Men's Golf). 

Tarleton State matched its most runs in a conference tournament game in program history. The Texans' 21 hits are the most in a conference tournament game in the Division I era and Tarleton State's most in postseason competition since 1998 (24 vs. Texas A&M Kingsville on May 9). Both teams combined for 32 runs, the most in a WAC Tournament game since 1996. It was also the most combined runs since the tournament returned to Mesa, Arizona, in 2010. 

Six Texans were named to the All-Tournament Team, with the list featuring catcher Sergio Guerra, outfielder Rayner Heinrich, infielder Slade McCloud, utility Carson Lorch, pitcher Cort Lowry and infielder Raphaël Smeenk. Smeenk was named Most Outstanding Player for the Tournament, going 5-for-8 at the plate with two home runs, six RBIs in the Texans' last two games. 

Every player in Tarleton State's lineup recorded at least one hit, with McCloud coming up with four hits and 5 RBIs to lead the Texans offensively. McCloud also hit his sixth home run of the year while Guerra hit his second home run of the tournament in the top of the ninth. 

Junior pitcher Anthony Treto picked up his third win of the season, striking out six batters in three innings pitched. The Texans' pitching staff combined for eight strikeouts on Saturday. 

"I told the team before the game that we paid the price for this moment," head coach Fuller Smith said. "They worked hard in the fall leading up to the season and weren't going to be denied this moment. Hats off Sac State's group. They were warriors all weekend and they wouldn't go away and that's a testament to their program. I'm just happy for our boys. They get to play in an NCAA Regional now." 

As the Texans had done all tournament long, they struck fast and first. A pair of singles in the top of the first inning put runners at the corners, allowing a high chopper hit by Lorch to score the game's first run. Sacramento State countered in the bottom half of the inning with an RBI triple, sacrifice fly and a home run to take an early 3-1 lead. 

Despite the Hornets' punch, the Texans took it and responded with one of their own. After two straight singles to start the top of the second inning, the Texans capitalized off a Sacramento State error and scored a run. Tarleton State retook the lead later in the inning thanks to a double from Heinrich and a sacrifice fly from Lorch. 

A sacrifice fly from Smeenk following a pair of hits allowed the Texans to add another run in the top of the third inning, allowing Tarleton State to hold a three-run lead. It only took Sacramento State a half-inning to erase the deficit, scoring three runs after loading the bases to tie the score at six runs each. 

The Texans retook control in the top of the fourth inning and never looked back. After McCloud homered to lead off the inning, Smeenk hit a two-out single that drove in a pair of runs. Sophomore outfielder Kendyl Johnson followed suit with a double to score two more runs and extend the Texans' lead by five runs. 

Sacramento State scored two more runs in the bottom half of the fourth, but the Texans' scoring spree continued. Smeenk again drove in a run with an RBI single in the top of the sixth inning while McCloud's two-out single put the Texans ahead by six runs. The Hornets got a run on the board in the bottom of the sixth, but an RBI single from senior outfielder Jake Tatom in the top of the eighth inning allowed the Texans to maintain momentum. 

Tasting the title, the Texans went out of the top of the ninth inning with an exclamation point. An RBI double from senior infielder Ike Shirey, Guerra homered to make it an 18-10 game. A double from McCloud allowed the Texans to score two more runs before a single from Heinrich capped off the Texans' last offensive inning with their sixth run of the frame. 

Sacramento State homered in the bottom of the ninth after scoring a run in the previous frame. Tarleton State's lead however, was too much to overcome for the Hornets and the Texans easily clinched the program's second conference tournament title in the Division I era. 

Tarleton State will find out the location and its opponents for the 2026 NCAA Regional during the Selection Show on Monday at 11 a.m. CT on ESPN2. Watch Party information will be announced once finalized. 
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