ABILENE - Junior catcher
Lyndi Smith kept No. 22 Abilene Christian away from extra-innings after crushing a walkoff solo home run in the bottom of the seventh Saturday night at Poly Wells Field, giving the Wildcats a 6-5 win over the No. 16 Bronchos of Central Oklahoma.
The round-tripper was Smith's second of the season as she finished today's doubleheader vs. UCO and Eastern New Mexico 4-for-7 with three runs and two RBI.
The Wildcats were down to their last out when Smith came to the plate and had already blow earlier leads of 4-0 and 5-4. But on a 2-0 delivery from Kalynn Schrock, Smith spun around her team's fortunes with one big swing of the bat and blasted the ball off the bottom of the left-field scoreboard.
Smith's jubiliant reaction with her arms raised high in the air was nearly instantaneous as the rest of the Wildcat bench came out to mob her at home plate.
The victory lifted ACU's season record to 5-3, while the Bronchos of the MIAA fell to 3-1.
Caitlyn Crain (2-2) won the game in relief for the Wildcats after pitching the final 2.1 innings. Her lone run allowed was a solo shot to Kacie Edwards in the seventh that tied the game at 5-5. Edwards also went deep vs. starter
Peyton Mosley with a two-run bomb in the fifth that trimmed the ACU lead to 4-3.
Third-baseman Nicole Workman completed the Bronchos' comeback with the second of the back-to-back shots against Mosley, who lasted 4.2 innings with three strikeouts and two walks.
ACU grabbed a 4-0 lead in the second with all the runs coming with two outs. Junior
Heather Peacock began the rally with an infield single to short,
Cara Hoover walked, and then
Demi McNulty reached on a pop-up infield single that fell in between Workman and Schrock.
Freshman right fielder
Anna Jones then came through with a two-run single up the middle and Winkfield made it a 4-0 game with a RBI triple. Winkfield added a third RBI after drawing a bases-loaded walk in the sixth that broke the 4-4 tie and plated pinch runner
Paige Stevens.
Schrock (1-1) gave up 11 hits through 6.2 innings pitched, walked two and struck out four.
The Wildcats hammered Eastern New Mexico 9-1 in a five-inning game to start the second day of competition at the Whitten Inn Classic.
ACU sent 10 batters to the plate during a six-run first and then
Madison Buckley clinched the run-rule victory with a two-run home run to right in the fourth against Katie Ramsay. It was Buckley's first home run of the season.
Shelby Hall (3-0) started vs. the Zias and struck out four in as many innings. She allowed just two hits and an unearned run before being lifted for Crain, who pitched a single scoreless inning of relief.
ACU returns to action next weekend with a trip to Tucson, Ariz. for the prestigious NFCA Division II Leadoff Classic.
