ABILENE – The Abilene Christian baseball team will begin a stretch of 21-straight games played within the friendly confines of The Key City this weekend when it plays host to former Lone Star Conference foe East Central, Friday to Sunday at Crutcher Scott Field.
Game times vs. the Tigers are Friday at 4 p.m., Saturday at 2 p.m. (doubleheader) and Sunday at 1 p.m.
Live stats will also be provided for each game.
ACU leads its all-time series with East Central, 35-7, and have swept several four-game series, including ones in 2007, 2008 and 2010. The two schools split last year's series in Abilene with the Wildcats taking games one (6-5) and four (5-2). ECU, however, swept the Saturday doubleheader by scores of 5-3 and 11-6.
The Tigers come to Crutcher Scott Field with a 2-3 early-season record. ECU first split a four-game home-and-home series with St. Gregory's followed by a 16-3 loss Tuesday vs. Oklahoma Baptist.
Gabriel Martinez won two games in relief for the Tigers and has their best ERA at 3.00, while Hernan Vivas has the most strikeouts with 10 (6.0 IP). Andrew Olson struck out six through 5.0 innings in a no-decision vs. St. Gregory's.
The Tigers' offense – led by Benny Woodard (.333 - 1 HR – 2 doubles - 4 RBI) – is batting .268 overall with 25 runs scored, eight extra-base hits and eight stolen bases on 12 attempts.
The Wildcats began their 2013 season last week by going 2-2 at the Astros In Action D-II Invitational hosted by Minute Maid Park in Houston. ACU beat Arkansas-Monticello in their season opener 13-3 and Incarnate Word, 12-5, but lost to nationally ranked Central Missouri, 8-1, and to Texas A&M-Kingsville, 8-5.
The Wildcat offense batted .279 with 31 runs scored and eight extra-base hits, and also stole 10 bases on 11 attempts. Senior
Travis Schuetze batted .528 with two doubles and four RBI. Newcomer
Seth Spivey hit .462 with five runs scored, and
Kyle Giusti drove in eight runs with a .438 batting average.
Opening day starter
Jordon Herrera won his opening day start, lasting 7.0 innings vs. Arkansas-Monticello with eight strikeouts, while senior
Aaron Lambrix beat the Cardinals with 4.1 effective innings of relief complete with five Ks.
Following this weekend's series, the Wildcats will play a single game on Feb. 17 at McMurry and then embark on a 16-game homestand that runs from Feb. 22 (vs. New Mexico Highlands) to March 17 (vs. Incarnate Word).
