The WSU baseball team (6-3) defeated the Tarleton State Texan Raiders (3-5) Wednesday evening 9-8 on late-game heroics from the Cougars. This was the first matchup between WSU and Tarleton State. 

The Cougs scored their nine runs on nine hits with no errors, while the Texan Raiders scored their eight runs on eight hits, but five errors caused Tarleton State to lose the game. 

For the Cougs, Connor Barison earned his second pitching win of the season, his record now sits at 2-0. For Tarleton State, Zane Badmaev earned his first pitching loss of the season, his record now 0-1. Chase Grillo also earned a save for the Cougs. 

“Mentality was to come in, attack the zone and try to put up a zero,” Grillo said.

First Inning: 

The Cougs started off the game by scoring one run in the first inning — an RBI single from Jack Smith scored Bryce Matthews to give the Cougs a 1-0 lead heading into the bottom of the first inning.

WSU’s lead was short-lived, as Tarleton State responded by scoring four runs of their own in the first. Carter Dobrinski hit a grand slam, earning him four RBIs and giving the Texan Raiders a 4-1 lead heading into the second inning. 

Second Inning: 

WSU had a rough second inning, as Tarleton State forced the Cougs to go three-up three-down, while they scored two runs in the bottom of the inning. Alec Williams hit a two-run homerun to give the Texan Raiders a 6-1 lead early. Tarleton State sent eight batters to the plate in the inning and had two hits. 

Third Inning: 

WSU started swinging the bats in the top of the third inning, scoring four runs and sending seven batters to the plate. Matthews got the scoring started with an RBI single, which was followed up by a two-RBI double from Jacob McKeon. 

“It was a group effort, I mean just grinding out at bats, quality at bats,” McKeon said.

McKeon scored on a fielder’s choice groundout to cut the Texan Raiders’ lead to one. The Cougs followed up their strong offensive inning by getting three consecutive outs, including two strikeouts and a lineout to keep the score 6-5 in favor of Tarleton State. 

Fourth Inning: 

The fourth inning was slow for both sides. There were no hits in the inning and the only action on the bases was for the Cougs. Elijah Hainline reached first base on a throwing error, but was left stranded. Tarleton State had a lineout, flyout and strikeout to end the inning. 

“Our bullpen from the fourth inning on was just zero after zero after zero,” WSU head coach Brian Green said.

Fifth Inning: 

The fifth inning produced a single from WSU’s Smith, who reached second on a wild pitch. Once again, the Cougs left a runner stranded. Tarleton State forced a double play in the inning, which was key for them only giving up one hit. For the Texan Raiders, they had another three-up three-down battle with WSU’s bullpen. 

Sixth Inning:

The sixth inning produced zero hits from either team and the only on-base appearance was from the Cougs, where Kyler Stancato reached first base on a fielding error. Tarleton State struck out once, fouled out and had a pop up to end the sixth with the score still 6-5 in favor of the Texan Raiders.

Seventh Inning: 

Similar to the sixth inning, there were no hits from either side and both teams had their first three batters get out. The Cougs struck out twice, while Tarleton State struck out three times in the inning. 

Eighth Inning: 

Scoring finally occurred in the eighth inning for Tarleton State. They sent six players to the plate in the inning and had two hits to score one run. The Texan Raiders’ run was scored on a fielder’s choice from the Cougs. For WSU, they sent four batters to the plate. Collin Montez earned a walk, stole second a few batters later and advanced to third after an error on the throw down to second. Montez was the third runner of the game left stranded on base for WSU.

Ninth Inning: 

With the Cougs down 7-5 in the ninth with only three outs left, WSU’s hitting came in clutch for four runs and the lead. The Cougs sent nine batters to the plate in the inning. Their scoring started with a bases loaded walk that was followed by another walk-in run to tie the game. With the bases still loaded, Montez hit a two-RBI single off the left field wall to take a 9-7 lead. 

Tarleton State went down swinging, starting off the bottom of the ninth with a homerun. The Texan Raiders found themselves with two runners in scoring position with one out, but the Cougs’ closer, Grillo, struck out the last two hitters to end the game and earn a 9-8 victory.  

The Cougs’ next appearance will be in Frisco, Texas, for the Frisco College Baseball Classic starting Friday with a game against Texas A&M.