STEPHENVILLE, Texas (Interstat) — Tarleton State defeated Texas-Rio Grande Valley 7-4 on Friday at Tarleton Baseball Complex. The Texans improved to 32-16, while the Vaqueros fell to 24-26.

UTRGV took a 4-0 lead in the second inning on a solo home run by Ramirez. Tarleton answered with a run in the third, then tied the game in the fourth on RBI singles by Lorch, Smeenk and Tatom. The Vaqueros regained a brief lead in the fifth when Garza Gongo hit a two-run homer to left. The Texans seized control in the sixth. Slade McCloud drove in two runs with a single that advanced on a fielding error, and Rayner Heinrich tripled to right to score McCloud. UTRGV added a run in the eighth on a single by Villescas but could not complete the comeback.

Both teams totaled eight hits. Matthew McCullough earned the win, allowing three earned runs over five innings with five strikeouts. Karsen Davis pitched three innings of relief, surrendering one earned run and striking out two. Sergio Lopez threw 2 2/3 scoreless innings for UTRGV with one strikeout.