- Box Score
WEATHERFORD, Okla. – The Tarleton baseball team won their second straight game 6-5 when they defeated the Bulldogs in Weatherford Sunday afternoon.
Coming off a stunning upset of No. 15 St. Mary's last Tuesday, the Texan (2-0) went into Oklahoma and pulled off yet another late game victory on an RBI single by second baseman Landon McCall in the top of the 10th inning.
Tarleton jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning after Chris Casazza was hit by pitch, followed by designated hitter Reagan Janda's two-run home run with two outs.
The Bulldogs (1-3) answered with two runs of their own in the bottom half of the first with a two-run double by SWOSU's Edwin Mendoza.
The tie was short lived however, as the Texans turned around and put up single runs in the second and third innings. In the second, third baseman Junnior Dishmey drove in centerfielder Tim Rainey with an RBI single. In the third, Janda scored from first base on an RBI double by catcher Andrew Kapple to put Tarleton up 4-2.
SWOSU was able to put up single runs of their own on an RBI single by Mendoza in the third and scoring on an error in the fourth.
The Bulldogs and Texans remained tied at 4-4 until the eighth inning when shortstop Nathan Hille broke the deadlock with an RBI single, scoring first baseman Zane Hensley.
But once again, SWOSU returned the favor with an RBI double by James Cloud in the bottom half of the eighth.
With the game at 5-5 in the ninth inning, the Texans and the Bulldogs both failed to break the tie and sent the game into extra innings.
It was the visiting Texans though that were able to strike in the top of the 10th when McCall hit a two-out, RBI single to plate Rainey, giving Tarleton the 6-5 lead.
For the second straight game, closer Ryan Turner came in to close the door on the Bulldogs, tossing a shut out 10th inning. Turner struck out three SWOSU batters to clinch the win for Tarleton, who improved to 2-0 on the year.
Turner was awarded the win for his efforts, going two shutout innings, giving up just one hit and striking out three. Doug Carel suffered the loss for the Bulldogs, after giving up the deciding run in the 10th.
Janda led the Texans with two RBI's and two runs, while Hensley, Rainey and Dishmey all collected two hits in the game. Dishmey, Hille, McCall and Kapple provided the runs for Tarleton. As a team, the Texans recorded 10 hits and drew four walks. McCall provided Tarleton's lone stolen base, while Dishmey, Kapple and Rainey all doubled.
SWOSU committed four errors in the game and drops to 1-3 on the season.
Head coach Byran Conger talked about his team's effort after the game.
"I thought we did a great job of staying patient," said Conger. "It was a back-and-forth game and both teams traded blows. McCall just had a quality at-bat and we were able to get the win."
Conger sited the team's unofficial motto as the reason for the team's success.
"We have said all year that we just need to play one pitch at a time and I though we did that," said Conger. "It was a great all-around team effort."
The Texans return to action Monday, when they will take on Southwestern Oklahoma for a double header at 12 p.m. Miguel Ramirez is slated to start in game one for Tarleton, while Brandon Van Riper will be on the mound in game two.
Check back at TarletonSports.com for results, statistics and post game reports.
