ACU set for LSC title run
Wildcats to take on Savage Storm on Friday
IRVING -- Never before have the ACU Wildcats entered post-season play with as good a team with as good a record as the one that head coach Chantiel Wilson will take into the 2006 post-season.
The 38-15 Wildcats -- who have already tied the school's single-season record for wins -- will get their post-season started Friday with an 11 a.m. game against Southeastern Oklahoma State in the Lone Star Conference Post-Season Softball Tournament at Southwest Park. All of the Wildcats' games in the tournament -- including Friday's first game -- can be heard locally on the radio on KSLI 1280 AM, or on the internet at www.teamline.cc.
Southeastern Oklahoma State beat Angelo State, 9-2, Thursday in a first-round matchup, pushing the Savage Storm into the next round, while the Rambelles fall into the loser's bracket of the tournament. Thursday's other game was won by Central Oklahoma, which beat Texas Woman's, 3-0. UCO will take on LSC North Division champion Midwestern State at 11 a.m. Friday, while TWU will play Angelo State in an 11 a.m. elimination game.
The Wildcats -- who won the LSC South Division title this year for the first time since 2000 -- have not played Southeastern Oklahoma State this season, although the Wildcats are a combined 7-5 combined against the other four teams in the tournament. If the Wildcats win their 11 a.m. game, they will play again at 3 p.m. Friday, but a loss in the first game will force them into the loser's bracket where they will play at 1 p.m. A win there would put them into the 3 p.m. game.
If the Wildcats win both of their games on Friday, they will be in the catbird's seat in the tournament, playing at 1 p.m. Saturday in the first championship game. The opposing team in that round would have to beat ACU twice in order to keep the Wildcats from winning the program's first LSC softball championship.
"The thing about our conference tournament is that it's almost as tough as the regional tournament," Wilson said. "We know that we'll have to be at our best in every facet to win the tournament championship. Obviously Midwestern State is very good (4-1 vs. ACU this year and ranked No. 1 in the NCAA Division II South Central Region), as is Southeastern Oklahoma State and Central Oklahoma. And you can't forget about Angelo State, which is just two years removed from winning the national championship.
"But that's not to say that I don't like our team or our chances," she said. "We're as good offensively and defensively as we've ever been, and Jennifer (Leal) is one of the best pitchers in the region. We'll definitely show up and be ready to play."
The Wildcats enter the tournament with one of the region's best pitchers in Leal, who earlier this week was named the LSC South Division Pitcher of the Year. Leal was 2-0 with a 0.64 earned run average last week as ACU clinched its first LSC South Division title since 2000. In Friday's 3-1 win, she allowed eight hits and struck out four, then she picked up a four-hit, 3-K shutout Saturday. Leal is second in the LSC in wins (23), third in the LSC in innings pitched (173.0), fourth in the LSC in ERA (1.58) and fifth in the LSC in strikeouts (116).
Senior outfielder Jade Wilson -- who battled a leg injury throughout the season -- appears to be getting healthy at just the right time, and she proved it last week with a big weekend against Texas Woman's. Wilson was named the LSC South Division co-Hitter of the Week after she was 5 for 7 (.714) with five runs scored, a double, two homeruns and seven RBI. She had a three-run homer in a 3-1 win and a two-run walkoff homer in an 8-6 win.
The Wildcats' lineup is one of the most potent in the conference as ACU enters the tournament with 57 home runs, just six away from breaking its own school and LSC record for home runs (62), which was set in 2005. ACU is second in the LSC in team hitting (.339), fifth in team pitching (2.59 ERA) and fourth in team fielding (.959).
ACU junior third baseman Nicole Deel is first in the LSC in RBI (54), tied for 1st in the LSC in home runs (1 3), and fourth in the LSC in both runs scored (45) and total bases (111). ACU sophomore designated hitter Jessica Johnson is tied for third in the LSC in home runs (11), ande she is fifth in the LSC in batting average (.413).
