AUSTIN, Texas – A historic 2026 season for Tarleton State Baseball ended on Sunday in the NCAA Austin Regional at the hands of the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos.
Tarleton State (38-21) lost 9-5 against UC Santa Barbara (40-19) on Sunday at UFCU Disch-Falk Field in Austin in an elimination game. The 3-seed Texans knocked off the 2-seed Gauchos 11-5 on Friday, but after UCSB defeated 4-seed Holy Cross on Saturday and Tarleton State lost to 1-seed and No. 6 Texas, UCSB won Sunday's elimination game to advance to the NCAA Regional Final against the Longhorns.
The Texans finished with their third most wins in a single-season in their modern era, and their most wins since 1992. Tarleton State also won its third ever NCAA Regional game in its fifth appearance, its first in the D1 era (also 2014 and 1998). The Texans are now 3-10 all-time in NCAA Regional games. After starting the postseason 4-0, with a 3-0 slate at the WAC Tournament and a win in the NCAA Regional opener for the first time in program history, the Texans dropped back-to-back games to conclude the year.
UCSB outhit Tarleton State 14-9 on Sunday, with seven different Texans recording a hit.
Slade McCloud had a team-high three RBI with a triple,
Rayner Heinrich went 2-for-4 with an RBI, and
Jake Tatom went 2-for-5 with a double.
Like the first inning on Saturday, the Texans were the victim of an overturned first inning call on Sunday, this time instead of an inning-ending double play, the Gauchos scored two in the opening frame on an error after the inning prolonged. UCSB then added two in the second on back-to-back solo home runs to lead 4-0 after two.
In the third,
Cage McCloud got the Texans on the board with an RBI single up the middle. UCSB got the run right back in the fourth on an RBI groundout.
In relief,
Tai Phetluangsy kept the Texans within arm's reach, allowing no runs across three innings of work, giving up just a hit and a walk with a strikeout.
The Texans had their best offensive inning in the seventh to get back in the game, opened by a
Sergio Guerra single and Raphael Smeenk double. With two outs,
Slade McCloud tripled off the right center wall, scoring two to make it a 5-3 game.
The Gauchos curbed Tarleton State's momentum with a four-spot in the eighth, buoyed by a three-run home run by Rowan Kelly, his second home run in as many games against the Purple and White. In the ninth,
Slade McCloud had an RBI groundout and Heinrich had an RBI single, but the Texans fell by a 9-5 final.
Tarleton State's
Brendon Carter (0-2) was tagged with the loss in his start, allowing four runs (two earned) on three hits and a walk with one strikeout in 1.1 IP.
Jackson Elizondo relieved Carter, allowing one earned run on two hits, a walk and hit by pitch in 1.2 IP. After Phetluangsy,
Ben Bosse covered 1.2 IP, allowing four earned runs on five hits with two strikeouts.
Karsen Davis went the last 1.1 IP, allowing no runs on three hits.
