SAN ANTONIO – The ACU Wildcats scored six runs in the top of the 10th inning Sunday afternoon and then held on in the bottom half of the inning to take a 13-10 win over Incarnate Word and earn a split of their four-game Lone Star Conference baseball series.
The win pushes the Wildcats to 14-11 overall and 2-2 in the LSC, while the Cardinals fall to 7-8 and 2-2. The Wildcats will be back in action this coming weekend when they host Texas A&M-Kingsville in a four-game series at Crutcher Scott Field starting Friday.
ACU held a comfortable 7-3 lead going to the bottom of the eighth inning before the Cardinals scored one run in the eighth and three in the ninth to tie the game at 7-7 and send it into extra innings.
In the top of the 10th,
Tyler Eager reached base after being hit to lead off the inning. He moved to second when
Kevin Finklea reached on a bunt single and then the Wildcats loaded the bases when
Kyle Conwell reached on a UIW error.
Rodge Macy then walked to drive in Eager with the go-ahead run just before
Duncan Blades doubled to left-centerfield to clear the bases and give ACU an 11-7 lead.
Chuck Duarte followed that double with an RBI single to drive in Conwell and make it 12-7.
Later in the inning
Luke Mejia lifted a sacrifice fly to left field to drive in Duarte to make it 13-7.
But the Cardinals wouldn't go away as they put up three runs in the bottom of the 10th and had the bases loaded when the game ended. Hector Flores had a two-run double to left field to make it 13-9 before Lucas Miller singled to left to drive in a run and make it 13-10.
But
Travis Schuetze – the Wildcats' fifth pitcher of the day – got Ryan Flowers to ground into a game-ending 6-4-3 double play with the bases full of Cardinals.
Blades finished with the day 3 for 6 with four RBI for the Wildcats, while Finklea was 2 for 4 with two RBI.
Clint Cooper picked up the win in relief to improve to 2-2 on the season.
