MESA, Ariz. (Interstat) — Raphael Smeenk hit two home runs and drove in two runs to lead Tarleton State to a 5-3 victory over California Baptist on Friday afternoon at HoHoKam Park in a Western Athletic Conference matchup.

Smeenk, the Tarleton State third baseman, finished 2 for 3 with a solo homer in the second inning and another solo shot in the eighth. His first home run cut the Lancers’ early lead to 3-1. His second, in the bottom of the eighth inning, extended the Texans’ lead to 5-3 and proved to be the decisive blow.

The most critical sequence of the game came in the bottom of the eighth with Tarleton State leading 4-3. After two strikeouts, Smeenk stepped to the plate and launched a fastball deep to right field for his second home run of the game. The solo shot gave the Texans a two-run cushion and allowed closer Tai Phetluangsy to work with a comfortable margin in the ninth.

California Baptist scored three runs in the top of the first inning. The Lancers batted around and capitalized on a hit-by-pitch but did not record a hit in the frame. The runs came on groundouts and a hit-by-pitch that forced in a run, though the official play-by-play shows the Lancers took a 3-0 lead after the top of the first without a hit.

Tarleton State answered in the bottom of the second. Smeenk led off with a home run to deep right field, cutting the deficit to 3-1. The Texans tied the game in the third inning. Rayner Heinrich tripled to left center to score a run, and Carson Lorch followed with a ground-rule double to left center that plated Heinrich, making it 3-3.

California Baptist reclaimed the lead in the top of the fourth. Ross singled, McFeely doubled to left center to drive in Ross, and the Lancers went ahead 4-3. But the Texans answered immediately in the bottom of the fourth. Sergio Guerra hit a solo home run to deep left field, tying the game at 4-4.

The score remained deadlocked until the bottom of the eighth. Both teams had opportunities but were denied by strong relief pitching. For Tarleton State, starting pitcher Ethan Wendel worked 5.2 innings, allowing two earned runs on six hits while striking out two. Anthony Treto earned the win, pitching 2.1 innings of one-hit, scoreless relief with one strikeout. Phetluangsy closed the game with one inning of work, allowing one earned run on two hits.

For California Baptist, starter Bryan Peck pitched three innings, allowing three earned runs on one hit while striking out four. Cameron Teper followed with two innings of scoreless relief, allowing no hits and striking out two. Luis Becerra pitched three innings, striking out five and allowing one earned run on no hits, but he was charged with the loss after giving up Smeenk’s decisive homer.

Both teams finished with nine hits. The Lancers, now 44-14, had previously beaten Tarleton State 12-1 in April but had lost the other two games of that series by scores of 6-7 and 2-3. The Texans improved to 36-19 and have won four of their last five games.

Tarleton State’s offense also received contributions from Heinrich, who went 2 for 4 with an RBI, and Lorch, who was 2 for 3 with an RBI. Guerra added the solo home run.

California Baptist’s four-run fourth inning featured a key double by Luis Becerra but the Lancers could not sustain the momentum. The Lancers challenged a foul ball call in the seventh inning but the ruling was upheld, and Tarleton State also unsuccessfully challenged a call at first base in the ninth.

The game was played in front of a neutral-site crowd at HoHoKam Park, a spring training facility in Mesa.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of California Baptist 8, Tarleton State 7, and Interstat’s ELO system had projected California Baptist with a 57.70 percent probability to win.