MESA, Ariz. (Interstat) — Slade McCloud went 4 for 6 with a home run and five RBIs to lead Tarleton State to a 21-11 victory over Sacramento State on Saturday at HoHoKam Park in a Western Athletic Conference game.

McCloud, the Texans’ second baseman, doubled twice and scored four runs, continuing a strong series. He had gone 2 for 4 with a walk in the teams’ previous meeting Thursday, a 9-0 Tarleton State win, and had collected multiple hits in four of his last five games.

The Texans improved to 37-19 overall and won for the fourth time in their last five games. Sacramento State fell to 29-32.

Tarleton State jumped ahead in the top of the first inning when McCloud singled, advanced to third on a Rayner Heinrich single and scored on a fielder’s choice by Ty Lorch. The Hornets answered immediately in the bottom half, scoring three runs on a triple by Ryan Ellis, a sacrifice fly by Jace Jeremiah and a solo home run by Luis Pimentel-Guerrero, his sixth of the season.

The score remained 3-1 Sacramento State entering the top of the second. Tarleton State erupted for five runs, capitalizing on a fielding error by Hornets shortstop Sewell that allowed Raphael Smeenk to score from second. Heinrich followed with a two-run double, and Lorch added a sacrifice fly. The Hornets answered with three runs in the bottom of the third, including a run-scoring single by Jakob Poturnak and a wild pitch that brought home another run, cutting the lead to 8-6.

McCloud led off the top of the fourth with a solo home run to right field, his first of the game. The Texans added three more runs in the inning, keyed by a two-run single from Smeenk and a two-run double from Kendyl Johnson, pushing the advantage to 12-6. Sacramento State scored twice in the bottom of the fourth on a sacrifice fly by Jeremiah and an RBI single by Pimentel-Guerrero to make it 12-8.

After a scoreless fifth, Tarleton State broke the game open in the sixth. McCloud doubled and scored on a single by Smeenk, then McCloud delivered a two-run single later in the inning, scoring Smeenk and Johnson to make it 15-8. The Hornets got one back in the sixth on a Pimentel-Guerrero single that scored Ellis.

The Texans added three more in the seventh without a hit, taking advantage of a walk, a passed ball and a walk, followed by a run-scoring single by Cole Tatom. Tarleton State put the game away in the top of the ninth with a six-run outburst. Tyler Shirey doubled home Lorch, and Sergio Guerra followed with a two-run homer, his seventh of the season. McCloud capped the inning with a two-run double, and Heinrich singled him home to make it 21-9.

Sacramento State scored twice in the bottom of the ninth, including a solo home run by Poturnak, his first of the game. The Hornets finished with 14 hits, led by Ellis who was 4 for 4 with a triple and an RBI. Pimentel-Guerrero went 3 for 5 with a home run and three RBIs. Jeremiah drove in four runs, going 1 for 2 with three sacrifice flies.

Tarleton State collected 21 hits. Smeenk went 3 for 4 with four RBIs, Heinrich was 3 for 6 with three RBIs, and Guerra added a home run and two RBIs. Anthony Treto earned the win in relief, pitching three scoreless innings, allowing no hits, one unearned run and striking out six.

The most pivotal sequence came in the top of the fourth inning when Tarleton State, leading 8-6, hit back-to-back home runs and added three runs to build a six-run cushion that the Hornets could not overcome.

The game was played at HoHoKam Park, a neutral site in Mesa.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Tarleton State 8, Sacramento State 7, and the Interstat ELO system gave Tarleton State a 52.90 percent probability to win.