ABILENE - Senior
Caitlyn Crain delivered a gutsy performance against the nation's 16th-ranked team, but her offense stalled several times late and Central Oklahoma escaped Poly Wells Field with a 2-1 victory Friday night during the first day of action at the Whitten Inn Classic.
The loss dropped the Wildcats' season record to 3-3, while the Bronchos improved to 2-0. Both schools beat Eastern New Mexico earlier in the afternoon.
Crain (1-2) delivered an 118-pitch complete game vs. the defending South Central Region champions complete with four strikeouts, including two of cleanup-hitter Nicole Workman to escape a pair of jams. But it was Workman's two-run single in the third that would hold up as the game-winner.
The Bronchos caught a big break that frame with one out when ACU shortstop
Sara Vaughn muffed a throw from catcher
Lyndi Smith while trying to tag Devyn Frazier out at second base. Crain walked two of the next three batters to load the bases, and with then two outs, Workman slammed a shot off the top of the left-field wall, plating both Frazier - who went 3-for-3 - and leadoff hitter Ally Dziadula. Both runs were unearned.
Crain kept the Bronchos off the scoreboard afterward despite allowing five more hits over the last three innings. The first two UCO hitters reached base in the fifth, but were left stranded as Crain got a ground ball, pop up and strikeout of Workman to end the threat. She got Workman again looking at strike three to end what started as a two-on, no-out situation in the seventh.
ACU's offense was kept in check most of the night by UCO starter Kalynn Schrock (1-0), who finished with eight strikeouts. Schrock allowed just two baserunners over the first four innings before getting into some serious trouble in the fifth and sixth.
With two aboard and two outs in the fifth, ACU head coach
Bobby Reeves turned to freshman pinch hitter
Adelaid Oun, who put the ball in play with a bouncer to short. Hannah Justus quickly reached the ball but her throw skipped away from first baseman Hayley Hudson, allowing pinch runner
Ashley Nolan to scored all the way from second base. Freshman
Demi McNulty also attempted to score, but was tagged out by catcher Tori Collet as she started her slide into home plate.
The very next inning, ACU leadoff hitter
Keanna Winkfield made it all the way to third after Schrock threw the ball past Hudson and down first-base line. Unfortunately, the Wildcats could not push her across for the game-tying run.
Vaughn whiffed against Schrock for the first out, and then
Madison Buckley tried to bunt Winkfield home, but Workman the third-baseman stayed a step ahead of Winkfield down the line and underhanded the ball to Collet, resulting in a very close play at the plate.
Buckley would be left at second base after Schrock struck
Courtney Flanary out looking.
Smith led off the ACU ninth with a single through the left side, only to be retired on the following play - a ground ball to shortstop. Schrock got
Anna Jones to pop up to end the game.
ACU started its day with a hard-fought 8-3 victory over Lone Star Conference rival Eastern New Mexico. The Zias held two early leads, including 3-2 after Elizabeth Velasquez hooked a two-run home run around the foul pole in left; however, the Wildcats would answer with a game-tying solo shot from freshman
Cara Hoover.
ACU broke the game open with a five-run sixth in which all the runs were unearned as the Zias began the inning with a pair of infield errors. Third-baseman
Heather Peacock reached on a shortstop error to begin the inning and then scored the go-ahead run after a routine ground ball put in play by McNulty dribbled past first baseman Katie Ramsay.
McNulty came around on a RBI single by Winkfield. Two more runs then scored on Buckley's double to the right-center gap.
ACU's rally made a winner out of senior
Shelby Hall (2-0), who struck out three over the final 3.2 innings. Junior
Peyton Mosley started for the Wildcats, but was lifted after surrendering the Velasquez home run.
Eastern starter Amy Smith (0-1) suffered the loss. She allowed six runs - three earned - on seven hits and three walks.
The Zias lost to UCO, 15-4, with all their runs coming on a fifth-inning grand slam by Kyra Sirag.
The second day of the Whitten Inn Classic starts Saturday at noon with ACU vs. Eastern New Mexico, followed by Eastern vs. Central Oklahoma at 2 p.m. and ACU vs. UCO at 4 p.m.
