ABILENE - Abilene Christian baseball's annual fall intrasquad scrimmage, known as the Purple/Black World Series, begins this Thursday, Oct. 25 at Crutcher Scott Field. First pitch is scheduled for 4:05 p.m.
Game one will feature a pitching duel between two former Oklahoma recruits, Ty Taylor and
Clint Cooper. Taylor comes to ACU as a junior after spending all of 2012 at OU as an outfielder and relief pitcher. Prior to that, the Cleburne, Texas, native competed during his freshman season at Weatherford College and registered a 9-1 record, 2.23 earned run average and 61 strikeouts.
Cooper originally signed with OU out of Howard College before transferring to ACU prior to the start of 2012, and went on to lead the Wildcats last spring with 24 appearances and seven victories.
Following Cooper in the Purple Team's rotation are seniors Carter Hahn and
Austin Palmer and junior Cody Willingham. Palmer pitched three complete games in 2012, his first as a Wildcat, en route to a 2-2 record. Hahn transferred to ACU from Lamar, where he was a fixture in the Cardinals' rotation, finishing with a 3-3 record and 49 strikeouts.
Willingham joined the Wildcats after spending his first two years at Palomar College, which is located northeast of San Diego. As a sophomore last season he struck out 18 hitters in 20.1 innings pitched.
The rest of the Purple Team roster is comprised of six newcomers and nine lettermen, most notably second team all-region honoree Carlos 'Chuck' Duarte and Lone Star Conference Freshman of the Year
Tyler Eager.
Backing up Taylor in the Black Team's rotation are Wildcat veterans
Jordon Herrera,
Aaron Lambrix and
Brady Rodriguez. Lambrix returned from injury last spring and pitched the most innings of any ACU starter with 90.0, while Herrera led the staff with 50 Ks. Rodriguez appeared in 23 games with five starts, totaling 56.2 innings of work.
Eight returning lettermen will bolster the Black Team's lineup, led by all-conference honorees
Rodge Macy and
Travis Schuetze. Redshirt senior James 'J.R.' Roland also is expected to play after missing all of 2012 with an injury. As a junior in 2011, Roland hit .360 with 24 runs, 15 extra-base hits and 31 RBI.
Games two to five will take place Monday through Thursday of next week after the players return from Fall Break. Monday's Game 2 is slated to start at 3:37 p.m., Games 3 and 4 at 4:05 p.m. on Tuesday and Wednesday, while Game 5 will get underway Thursday at 6:05 p.m.
Admission is free to all games.
Purple/Black World Series Schedule
Game 1: Thursday, Oct. 25 at 4:05 p.m.
Taylor (Black) vs. Cooper (Purple)
Game 2: Monday, Oct. 29 at 3:37 p.m.
Herrera (Black) vs. Hahn (Purple)
Game 3: Tuesday, Oct. 30 at 4:05 p.m.
Lambrix (Black) vs. Palmer (Purple)
Game 4: Wednesday, Oct. 31 at 4:05 p.m.
Rodriguez (Black) vs. Willingham (Purple)
Game 5: Thursday, Nov. 1 at 6:05 p.m.
Taylor (Black) vs. Cooper (Purple)
Rosters
Purple Team (19)
Heath Beasley, Cameron Bonifant,
Clint Cooper,
Tyler Eager, Carlos 'Chuck' Duarte, Anthony Garza, Carter Hahn,
Ryan Luckie,
Emmett Niland,
Sean O'Donnell, Nick Palacios,
Austin Palmer,
Will Roberts, Ricardo Salazar, Nathan Smego,
Kregg Snook, Seth Spivey, Cody Willingham, Keith Yorkman.
Black Team (18)
Kyle Conwell, David Dillard,
Bryce Gerhardt, Colin Firmin, Kyle Giusti,
Jordon Herrera,
Aaron Lambrix,
Rodge Macy, Brandon Keck,
Luke Mejia, James Needham, Matt Patterson, James 'J.R.' Roland,
Brady Rodriguez,
Travis Schuetze,
Mason Smith, Ty Taylor,
Reed Watson.
