Tarleton State Baseball books ticket to WAC Tournament with a Thursday night win against GCU

The Texans and Lopes posted similar statlines during Thursday's contest with both squads registering eight hits and five strikeouts apiece. notched his fourth pitching win of the season and remains the only Tarleton State pitcher to have an undefeated record.

received the start at the mound, putting together another solid performance. The former WAC Pitcher of the Week had six innings of work on Thursday night, allowing only one run with three strikeouts. Paneton pulled the Texans out of the first inning by producing a 5-4-3 double play. However, Purple and White couldn't put up any runs either, leaving the ballgame scoreless after one.

The Texans got on the board in the bottom of the second thanks to a dynamic punch from and . McCloud achieved TSU's first hit with a one-out single to center field, then advanced to second base on a passed ball from the Lopes. Perez stepped up to make it two consecutive singles, scoring McCloud in the process and making the game 1-0.

Grand Canyon responded immediately in the third stanza with a solo home run from Troy Sanders, then the ballgame stayed at a stalemate for a while. McCloud notched his second hit of the evening in the bottom of the fourth, but the Purple and White were unable to regain control of the lead.

After a scoreless fifth frame, each team exchanged base hits in the sixth inning but both squads didn't capitalize, keeping the contest at 1-1. lifted a double to center field in the bottom of the seventh for Tarleton State's first extra-base hit of the game. The Texans went down via a popout and a groundout while Brewster was left on base.

Emilio Barreras launched a solo home run for the Lopes in the top of the eighth, giving Grand Canyon their first lead of the game. The Purple and White didn't let that go unanswered, putting up three runs in the bottom of that same inning. started things with a lead-off double, then advanced to third on a passed ball. After a pitching change from GCU, McCloud posted his fourth hit of the day, knocking an RBI single that scored Morrison and tied the game up.

Perez reached on a fielder's choice, swapping places with McCloud with two outs on the board. After Perez reached third base thanks to a defensive miscue from GCU, he scored on a wild pitch to give the Texans a 3-2 lead.

The eighth stanza was capped off by an electric home run from , the designated hitter. This marked the junior's third home run of the season in arguably one of the biggest games of the year. Gostisha now has 14 RBIs in only 16 games started.

Jaques closed out the game, helping the Texans clinch a 4-2 victory and a spot in the WAC Tournament next week. Tarleton State Baseball will look to achieve the series victory tomorrow at 3 p.m. when they take on the Lopes for game two. Get tickets here.