Texans drop game two to Mavericks on Saturday afternoon

STEPHENVILLE - Tarleton State Baseball (15-21, 3-5 WAC) fell to the UT Arlington Mavericks (12-19, 4-4 WAC) on Saturday afternoon, losing 13-6.

Both teams tallied double-digit hits with the Mavericks recording 13 and the Texans registering 10. UT Arlington had one error while Tarleton State accounted for four. The Texans' bullpen had six strikeouts opposed to two from the Mavericks.

UT Arlington got on the board early with a three-run first inning. After a defensive miscue that put Cade Dodson on base, Tyce Armstrong hit a two-run home run to give the Mavericks an early advantage. Jackson Hill tacked on another run for UTA shortly after, making the ballgame 3-0.

The Mavericks expanded their lead in the second inning off an RBI single from Dodson that drove in Austin Phillips. After a scoreless third frame, the Texans chipped away at the lead with two runs in the fourth. notched a lead-off single for Tarleton State's first hit of the game. Heinrich was then advanced to third base off a double from which marked his 22nd extra-base hit of the year. and did their job at the plate, hitting two sacrifice flies that brought in Drake and Heinrich, making it a 4-2 ballgame.

After the Texans put down the first three batters to start the fifth stanza, and hit two consecutive singles, putting them both on base with no outs. After both runners advanced off a wild pitch, scored Morrison via a groundout, cutting the lead to just one run. then hit an RBI single that drove in Smith to tie the game up at 4-4.

It was a brand new ballgame heading into the sixth inning. However, the Mavericks regained their momentum with four runs and four hits. Parker Airhart launched a three-run home run that was immediately followed by a solo shot from Dodson. These back-to-back home runs ultimately gave UT Arlington a commanding 8-4 lead heading into the bottom of the sixth.

The Purple and White couldn't respond to UTA's scoring spurt, going scoreless in the sixth. came onto the mound for the Texans, putting down the side and registering two strikeouts in the top of the seventh frame. Despite a one-out single from Smith, Tarleton State remained in a four-run deficit heading into the eighth inning.

Airhart scored off an error from the Purple and White, extending the Mavericks' lead to five runs. Heinrich responded with a run of his own to lead off the bottom of the eighth, blasting a solo home run to left field. This marked the freshman's first collegiate home run and his 16th extra-base hit of the year. Following Saturday's matchup, Heinrich is just one hit away from becoming the third Texan to achieve 40 hits this season.

UT Arlington put up four more runs in the ninth inning, capped off by a three-run home run from Tate Bethel. In the bottom of the frame, Smith hit a lead-off triple and scored the sixth run of the game for Tarleton State.

The Purple and White couldn't come back and eventually fell 13-6 to the Mavericks. The Texans will look to bounce back when they close out the series tomorrow at 1 p.m.. Get tickets here.