ABILENE – Junior
Courtney Flanary Tuesday received the Wildcats' first Lone Star Conference award of the season after batting .391 with six RBI and two home runs at last weekend's National Fastpitch Coaches Association D-II Leadoff Classic.
Flanary's home runs – her first two of the year – came during the final day of competition and helped the Wildcats win the tournament's bronze bracket behind an overall record of 4-2. The Bartonville, Texas, native went deep in the first inning of a 5-2 win over Minnesota State-Mankato, and then smashed a three-run shot over the left-field wall during the second inning of an eventual 8-3 victory vs. Cal State San Bernardino.
Flanary's efforts in the desert, which also included a three-hit, two-double game vs. Grand Canyon, boosted her season average by more than 100 points to .283. She also scored eight runs to give her the team lead with 12. Her 11 RBIs, meanwhile, rank second to
Lyndi Smith.
Flanary and Smith, along with junior
Heather Peacock, all ripped nine hits through six games at the classic, while freshman
Cara Hoover was an outstanding 7 for 11 (.636) with a home run, two doubles and six RBI through her four starts. Hoover recorded at least two hits in three of four games, and her three-run homer in the first inning vs. Minnesota State would serve as the game-winner.
On the mound, ACU's rotation of
Caitlyn Crain,
Peyton Mosley and
Shelby Hall combined for 25 strikeouts and a 2.39 earned run average. Crain went 2-0 with complete games vs. Regis and San Bernardino and picked up a big save vs. New Haven, which was threatening to comeback from a 9-2 deficit after scoring three times in the fourth inning.
Crain entered the game in the fifth to retire the Chargers in order and then stranded three in the sixth before finally being reached for a pair of runs in the seventh.
Mosley earned the win vs. New Haven despite giving up 10 hits through 4.0 innings, but at the same time, recorded a season-high seven strikeouts. The junior won her second game of the weekend vs. Minnesota State after punching out four Mavericks through 7.0 innings of work.
The Wildcats (9-5) will take a short break from tournament play this week when they play host to regional rival Texas-Permian Basin of the Heartland Conference for a Saturday 2 p.m. doubleheader. The Falcons are off to a 1-11 start this season with their lone victory coming against Eastern New Mexico (2-14).
ACU is 10-0 all-time vs. Permian Basin with its most recent victory being a 2-1 (9) decision at the 2012 Best Western Premier Spring Fling hosted by Texas Woman's. The Wildcats won the game on a RBI fielder's choice to second base by
Sara Vaughn that plated
Keanna Winkfield.
