Friday, March 22
Kingsville, TX
7 p.m.
Abilene Christian
at
Texas A&M - Kingsville
Photo by: Benjamin Dishong
ACU Faces Third Straight Nationally Ranked Opponent with Trip to No. 11 Kingsville
3/20/2013 1:49:00 PM | Baseball
ABILENE – The Abilene Christian baseball team departs the friendly confines of the Key City for the first time in over a month this weekend for a four-game Lone Star Conference series at No. 11 Texas A&M-Kingsville.
The Javelinas are off to an 18-5 start, which includes an 8-5 win over the Wildcats at Minute Maid Park on Feb. 4 during The Astros in Action D-II Invitational. They are also 3-1 in the LSC – tied with ACU for second place – after winning their opening series at then-No. 12 Angelo State.
Since returning home from Houston, the Wildcats have played 21 straight games in Abilene during which they went 13-8, averaged 6.5 runs per game, and hit .309 as a team. The pitching (3.84 ERA) also thrived at home behind the arms of Jordon Herrera (4-1, 30K), Carter Hahn (3-2, 38K), Austin Palmer (2-1) and Ty Taylor (2-2).
During this time, Brady Rodriguez (1-0, 4 SV) also cemented his role as the Wildcats' closer as he allowed just three earned runs through 13 appearances and 24.2 innings pitched (1.09 ERA).
At the plate, no one has been better than senior Travis Schuetze, who batted well over .400 and reached base during each game of the homestand with the exception of one. He also drilled nine extra-base hits, scored 13 runs and drove in 14.
Four additional everyday starters, led by leadoff man Seth Spivey (.391), hit .320 or better, while second-year players Tyler Eager and Kyle Conwell each hit over .270 with 25 RBI and 23 runs.
The Wildcats are coming off a good week in which they went a combined 4-2 against No. 1 Delta State (1-1) and No. 24 Incarnate Word (3-1). ACU was edged, 6-5, by the Statesmen in the first game before teeing off against six Delta pitchers in the series finale (10-4). The offense again scored double-digit runs in the first game vs. the Cardinals, and then relied on some tremendous pitching from Aaron Lambrix and Rodriguez for victories in games three (3-2) and four (5-4).
The UIW series finale marked ACU's first extra-inning game of the season.
ACU was rewarded for last week's efforts with a pair of conference players of the week awards. Junior Kyle Giusti was named the Diamond Player of the Week after hitting .550 (11-20) with seven RBI and four runs, while Ty Taylor earned Pitcher of the Week honors. Taylor struck out five and walked one in the Wildcats' win over Delta State, and against the Cardinals on Sunday, he struck out a career and season high nine batters through 6.0 innings pitched.
Kingsville, which went 31-18 a year ago en route to its appearance at NCAA regionals, continues to have the conference's lowest team ERA at 2.76, which is a half run better than second ranked West Texas A&M (3.26). Even without the services of 2012's LSC Pitcher of the Year Jaden Dillon, the Javelinas still have four individuals ranked among the league's ERA leaders, while junior Dallas Ponder is 6-0 with 34 Ks through 36 innings pitched.
Ponder's strikeout total ranks third in the LSC behind Wildcats Hahn (45) and Herrera (38).
Jeremy Flores (0-1, 2.40 ERA) serves as the Javelina's closer and is tops in the conference with six saves. ACU's Rodriguez is second with four.
Chris Ballou leads all Kingsville hitters with a .439 batting average to go along with two home runs and 17 RBI, while two-way player Taylor Taska is second, hitting .369 with 51 total bases and 22 RBI. Taska has been equally dominant on the mound, where he is 3-0 with a 0.59 ERA and nine strikeouts.
ACU leads its all-time series against Kingsville, 55-41. The two teams split their four-game set in 2012.
The Javelinas are off to an 18-5 start, which includes an 8-5 win over the Wildcats at Minute Maid Park on Feb. 4 during The Astros in Action D-II Invitational. They are also 3-1 in the LSC – tied with ACU for second place – after winning their opening series at then-No. 12 Angelo State.
Since returning home from Houston, the Wildcats have played 21 straight games in Abilene during which they went 13-8, averaged 6.5 runs per game, and hit .309 as a team. The pitching (3.84 ERA) also thrived at home behind the arms of Jordon Herrera (4-1, 30K), Carter Hahn (3-2, 38K), Austin Palmer (2-1) and Ty Taylor (2-2).
During this time, Brady Rodriguez (1-0, 4 SV) also cemented his role as the Wildcats' closer as he allowed just three earned runs through 13 appearances and 24.2 innings pitched (1.09 ERA).
At the plate, no one has been better than senior Travis Schuetze, who batted well over .400 and reached base during each game of the homestand with the exception of one. He also drilled nine extra-base hits, scored 13 runs and drove in 14.
Four additional everyday starters, led by leadoff man Seth Spivey (.391), hit .320 or better, while second-year players Tyler Eager and Kyle Conwell each hit over .270 with 25 RBI and 23 runs.
The Wildcats are coming off a good week in which they went a combined 4-2 against No. 1 Delta State (1-1) and No. 24 Incarnate Word (3-1). ACU was edged, 6-5, by the Statesmen in the first game before teeing off against six Delta pitchers in the series finale (10-4). The offense again scored double-digit runs in the first game vs. the Cardinals, and then relied on some tremendous pitching from Aaron Lambrix and Rodriguez for victories in games three (3-2) and four (5-4).
The UIW series finale marked ACU's first extra-inning game of the season.
ACU was rewarded for last week's efforts with a pair of conference players of the week awards. Junior Kyle Giusti was named the Diamond Player of the Week after hitting .550 (11-20) with seven RBI and four runs, while Ty Taylor earned Pitcher of the Week honors. Taylor struck out five and walked one in the Wildcats' win over Delta State, and against the Cardinals on Sunday, he struck out a career and season high nine batters through 6.0 innings pitched.
Kingsville, which went 31-18 a year ago en route to its appearance at NCAA regionals, continues to have the conference's lowest team ERA at 2.76, which is a half run better than second ranked West Texas A&M (3.26). Even without the services of 2012's LSC Pitcher of the Year Jaden Dillon, the Javelinas still have four individuals ranked among the league's ERA leaders, while junior Dallas Ponder is 6-0 with 34 Ks through 36 innings pitched.
Ponder's strikeout total ranks third in the LSC behind Wildcats Hahn (45) and Herrera (38).
Jeremy Flores (0-1, 2.40 ERA) serves as the Javelina's closer and is tops in the conference with six saves. ACU's Rodriguez is second with four.
Chris Ballou leads all Kingsville hitters with a .439 batting average to go along with two home runs and 17 RBI, while two-way player Taylor Taska is second, hitting .369 with 51 total bases and 22 RBI. Taska has been equally dominant on the mound, where he is 3-0 with a 0.59 ERA and nine strikeouts.
ACU leads its all-time series against Kingsville, 55-41. The two teams split their four-game set in 2012.
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