ABILENE – Abilene Christian's softball team heads south to Texas A&M-Kingsville this week for a three-game series vs. the Javelinas. The two sides will play a doubleheader Thursday at 5 p.m. and single game Friday at 1 p.m.
A handful of injuries have hurt the Wildcats (19-16, 3-6 LSC) at the start of their conference season, including those to corner infielders
Courtney Flanary and
Heather Peacock. ACU has been without Flanary's services since its series at Texas Woman's, while Peacock was forced to miss the final two games last week vs. Tarleton State.
Flanary is currently hitting .299 with five home runs and 19 RBI. Peacock is batting .313 with 14 RBI and 12 runs.
As a result of their absences, the coaching staff promoted several reserves into the starting lineup and switched around the positions of a couple more players. During Saturday's games vs. the TexAnns, both
Lyndi Smith and
Kaylee Crozier made their season debuts at third base, while
Madison Buckley moved to DP for just the second time this season as junior
Ashley Nolan took over to make four catches in left field.
ACU's pitching, however, still appears to be healthy as
Shelby Hall (2.15),
Caitlyn Crain (2.35) and
Peyton Mosley (2.54) continue to rank among the league's ERA leaders. Mosley pitched a three-hitter in Saturday's 7-1 win over the TexAnns in earning her fourth win of the season.
At the plate, senior centerfielder
Keanna Winkfield had the best weekend of any Wildcat as she went 5-for-8 (.625) with two runs and a RBI. She also drew three walks and stole two bases in finishing with a .727 on-base percentage.
Winkfield's efforts vs. the TexAnns lifted her season batting average to .374, which ranks her among the top-15 in the LSC. Her 43 hits, meanwhile, rank her seventh.
The Javelinas (10-22, 0-9 LSC) have lost their last 11 games entering this week's series and have already been swept by conference foes Texas Woman's, Tarleton State and West Texas A&M. Their losing streak began March 6 with a doubleheader loss to St. Mary's.
Kingsville senior Rose Stubbs is the league's second-leading hitter with a .477 batting average, but her team as a whole is only hitting .268. Kingsville's pitching (4.84 ERA) and defense (.941 fielding percentage) also rank near the bottom of the LSC.
ACU won two of three vs. the Javelinas last year at Poly Wells Field and lead the all-time series, 33-28.
