Holiday Inn at the Falls Midwestern State Invitational Web Page
ABILENE – The Abilene Christian softball teams heads back on the road this weekend for a trip to Wichita Falls, Texas and the Holiday Inn at the Falls Midwestern State Invitational. The Wildcats and Mustangs will kick off the three-day, six-team tournament Friday at 3 p.m. at Mustangs Park. Live stats will be provided for every game.
Additional tournament matchups will take place at Burkburnett High School located in nearby Burkburnett, Texas. ACU will play there twice Saturday, beginning with their 11 a.m. game vs. Fort Hays State, and again Sunday at 10 a.m. vs. Missouri Southern. The Wildcats will also face Texas A&M-International Saturday at 1 p.m. and Arkansas Tech Sunday at 2 p.m.
The winner of the round-robin tournament will first be determined by overall record, followed by head-to-head record, runs scored, and runs allowed.
The Wildcats were to have played six times at home last weekend, but frigid temperatures and a late Sunday snowfall cancelled half their games. However, in the three games it did play, ACU looked sharp at the plate, on the mound, and in the field.
Kimberly Briggs paced the offense with a sensational .857 batting average, which included a walk-off home run in the second game vs. East Central, five RBI, four runs and three doubles. Elsewhere in the Wildcats' lineup,
Megan Brigance hit .714 through three starts with a home run and six RBI, and
Lyndi Smith batted .625 with a round-tripper and four runs driven in.
Four additional ACU starters hit better than .333 as the Wildcats collectively batted .434 and outscored their opposition, 21-6.
On the mound, Caitlin Crain,
Shelby Hall, and
Peyton Mosley each were credited with a complete game. This trio totaled 19.0 innings of work in which they posted a 2.84 earned-run average.
Crain improved to 3-0 with her victory in game one Friday, during which she stranded seven East Central runners on base. She also picked a pinch runner leading off second base.
Mosley pitched Friday's nightcap and received more than enough run support as the Wildcats scored nine runs through five innings. And of the four hits she allowed, three came from the middle of the East Central order.
Hall retired the first 10 batters she face before being touched for three runs in between the fourth and fifth innings, but did a great job overall of keeping the ball low as evidenced by her 17 ground outs. Shortstop
Sara Vaughn was credited with 11 assists in the 8-3 win over Missouri Southern, while second baseman
Sarah Martinez had three, and third baseman
Brianna Fowlkes had two.
ACU's defense finished the weekend with a .989 fielding percentage as it made just one error through 91 chances. First baseman Brigance also made a tremendous play in the first game vs. East Central, as she dove to catch a bunt an inch off the dirt and then doubled the runner off first base with a fine throw to Martinez.
In making just two errors through seven games, ACU comes into this weekend with a stellar .991 fielding percentage. By comparison, their opponents have made eight miscues (.957).
