ODESSA – In a short trip down Interstate 20 the 12th ranked Wildcats picked up their fourth consecutive win in mid-week contest at Texas-Permian Basin on Tuesday afternoon. The Wildcats improved to 23-7 overall as UTPB fell to 19-11 while ACU has never lost to the Falcons in nine tries.
Both teams combined for 26 hits and used 12 pitchers as ACU is 9-0 all-time against UTPB. The Wildcats used seven pitchers of their own as starter Kevin Justice picked up his second win of the season.
The Falcons jumped on the Wildcats scoring in the first when Evan Gattis singled and scored when cleanup hitter Jermey Miller doubled with his only hit and RBI on the day.
The lead would not last long as ACU tallied three in the second going up 3-1 and not looking
back.
Cameron Watten and
Cameron Bankston recorded back-to-back singles to start the inning.
Ryan Luckie who got his second start in left field would knock a three-run homer to left field putting the Wildcats on top for good.
ACU would add another single run in the fourth on a lead-off homerun by Willie Uechi. Uechi's homer to left was his first of the season.
In the top of the fifth the Wildcats would add two more runs as Bret Bochsler and Watten picked up their first RBIs of the day. Bochsler and Watten would both go 3-for-5 as Watten added two runs and three RBIs for a team leading 27.
ACU would add another pair of runs in the sixth on three hits with RBIs by Uechi and Will Calhoun taking an 8-4 lead.
The Wildcats would add three more runs in the eighth putting the game out of reach and the eventual score of 11-4.
Six Wildcats finished the day with multiple hits as Aaron Oliver went 2-for-6 with two runs scored leading the Wildcats with 34 on the season. Travis Latz, Luckie and Bankston also added a pair of hits while Bankston started only his third game at catcher for ACU.
The Wildcats will return to Lone Star Conference action this weekend against rival Angelo State. The four game series will start on Friday with a doubleheader scheduled for 3:05 p.m. The series will conclude with another doubleheader on Saturday also starting at 3:05 p.m. Action can be heard and seen through live web streaming on acusports.com or fans can follow the action via live stats.
