ABILENE – Abilene Christian's 23-ranked softball team heads to Wichita Falls, Texas and the campus of Midwestern State this weekend for the Courtyard By Marriott Invitational, where it will twice face No. 13 Emporia State in addition to St. Mary's, Oklahoma Panhandle and Northeastern State.
Live stats will be available for all five games.
The Wildcats begin their week with a 10-6 season record after splitting last Saturday's doubleheader vs. South Central Region rival Texas-Permian Basin. ACU's 3-2 loss in game two vs. the Falcons snapped a season-long five-game winning streak.
ACU won the first game 10-2 for its first third run-rule victory of the season.
Lyndi Smith and
Cara Hoover got the Wildcats on the board in the first inning with a pair of two-run singles to center field to make it 4-0. After
Keanna Winkfield was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to make it 5-0,
Sara Vaughn delivered a two-run single to center to make it a 7-0 ACU lead.
The Wildcats added two more runs in the second inning, and then scored the game-ending run in the bottom of the sixth after
Madison Buckley scored when Flanary reached on an error by third baseman Cene Padilla.
Of the five runs allowed by ACU's three pitchers vs. the Falcons, only one was earned, which lowered the team's season ERA to 2.24. Senior
Caitlyn Crain was credited with the victory in game one, improving her record to 5-2. She also leads the team in strikeouts with 30.
Smith is the clubhouse leader in batting average (.431) and RBI (15), and is one of three Wildcats hitting well over .400 along with newcomers
Demi McNulty (.429) and
Heather Peacock (.413). Smith is tied with Hoover and junior
Courtney Flanary for the most home runs with two.
Senior
Keanna Winkfield, meanwhile, is fourth on the team with a .327 average and third with 12 runs scored.
Last year's regional tournament runner-up, Emporia State is off to an 8-2 start this season and will face the Wildcats in back-to-back games on Friday and Saturday night. The Hornets are 9-6 all-time vs. ACU after beating the Wildcats twice last season at the NCAA D-II Regional tournament.
Emporia State won the first game, 1-0, and later eliminated the Wildcats from competition on a walk-off grand slam, 5-1.
St. Mary's (15-6) and ACU continue their years-long rivalry Saturday night at 7 p.m. The two sides have played each other more than 40 times since 2000, and last season's four-game series split featured three one-run games.
ACU won both its home games vs. the Rattlers in walk-off fashion, as they rallied back from deficits of 7-2 and 1-0. Vaughn was credited for driving in the game-winning run during both ends of the doubleheader.
The Wildcats begin their tournament run Friday at 3 p.m. vs. Oklahoma Panhandle State (2-14), which they have not faced since 2006. ACU leads its all-time series vs. the Aggies, 15-4, and is 9-4 all-time vs. Sunday opponent Northeastern State.
Courtyard by Marriott/Midwestern State Invitational Schedule of Games
Friday, March 1
St. Mary's vs. Northeastern State, 11 a.m.
Oklahoma Panhandle State vs. Northeastern State, 1 p.m.
Abilene Christian vs. Oklahoma Panhandle State, 3 p.m.
Midwestern State vs. Emporia State, 5 p.m.
Emporia State vs. Abilene Christian, 7 p.m.
Saturday, March 2
Northeastern State vs. Oklahoma Panhandle State, 9 a.m.
Oklahoma Panhandle State vs. Emporia State, 11 a.m.
Midwestern State vs. Northeastern State, 1 p.m.
Midwestern State vs. St. Mary's, 3 p.m.
Abilene Christian vs. Emporia State, 5 p.m.
St. Mary's vs. Abilene Christian, 7 p.m.
Sunday, March 3
Emporia State vs. St. Mary's, 9 a.m.
Northeastern State vs. Abilene Christian, 11 a.m.
Midwestern State vs. Oklahoma Panhandle State, 1 p.m.
Midwestern State vs. Northeastern State, 3 p.m.
