ABILENE -- ACU shortstop
Andi Anti homered twice and drove in four runs Tuesday as the Wildcats knocked off St. Mary's, 12-8, in the first game of a non-conference softball doubleheader at Wells Field.
The Rattlers (27-11) came back in the nightcap to take a 5-4 win over the Wildcats (16-23) as the teams split the twinbill.
ACU returns to action this weekend when it hosts Angelo State in a Lone Star Conference series at Wells Field. The Wildcats and Rambelles will play a doubleheader at 5 p.m. Friday, followed by a single game Saturday at noon.
In the first game, the Wildcats jumped on top with four runs in the first, two of them coming home on a two-run blast to left by Anti. Leading 4-3, the Wildcats tacked on four more in the bottom of the third when
Candice Miller hit a grand slam to make it an 8-3 game.
Anti drove in two more runs in the fifth with a two-run home run to left field, and
Jenny Kulp finished off the scoring with a two-run double in the bottom of the sixth.
In the nightcap the Wildcats lost a heartbreaker as they fell to 4-11 on the season in one-run games.
Leading 2-1 after a solo home run by
Nancy Sawyers in the fifth, the Wildcats gave up a run in the sixth when Katie Nichols scored on a double-steal.
The Wildcats, though, had a chance for a big inning in the bottom of the sixth, but ran themselves out of it. Missy Mendoza led off the inning with a single and went to third on a double by Kulp.
But Anti struck out for the first out before Mendoza was tagged out at the plate when she tried to score on a wild pitch.
Brianna Fowlkes then grounded out to end the inning and send the game to the seventh inning with the game tied 2-2.
Neither team did anything in the seventh and each team scored in the eighth inning to send the game to the ninth tied at 3-3.
In the ninth, Chelsea Wenske drove in the go-ahead run with a double, and then Sarah Perez made it 5-3 when she drove in a run with a groundout.
In the bottom of the ninth, the Wildcats loaded the bases with one out after three straight singles by Fowlkes (an RBI single), Miller and Sawyers. Pinch-hitter
Ashley Peterson then reached on fielder's choice as pinch-runner
Genevie Ramirez was thrown out at the plate.
But before leadoff hitter
Shawna Barrow could bat with the bases loaded, Peterson was called out at first to end the game. After reaching base on the fielder's choice, Peterson went back to the bag and then came off the bag when she thought she had been called out at first. After the umpires consulted, Peterson was called out for leaving the bag and the game ended.
