ABILENE – Junior
Peyton Mosley pitched her best game of the season behind a personal best 10 strikeouts, but her effort still wasn't enough to beat Briana Sanchez and the Cardinals of Incarnate Word, who escaped Poly Wells Field Saturday afternoon with 1-0 rubber-game victory.
The win improved UIW's season and Lone Star Conference marks to 11-7 and 2-1, while the Wildcats fell to 14-10 and 1-2.
Mosley (2-5) kept the Cardinal hitters off balance until the sixth when third baseman Monica Acuna smacked a double off the right-field wall with one out. Acuna slid head first into the bag, but got up in a hurry and scampered to third once she realized the throw missed the ACU infielders.
On the next play, Shelby Waltrip drove the ball far enough to right and scored Acuna on the sacrifice fly.
Mosley allowed two more base runners that frame before escaping the jam with a swinging strikeout of Alex Yarbrough, which was her 10th and last of the game. She then retired the side in order in the seventh on a foul out and two ground balls.
Mosley completed her 7.0 innings of work with 129 pitches. She also scattered five hits and walked three.
It's likely the Wildcats would have won today's game against any other pitcher, but for the second time in as many days Sanchez (7-1) came through in the clutch with the go-ahead runs on base.
The Wildcats first threatened in the fourth by getting two aboard with one out, but Sanchez got
Lyndi Smith to swing through a high fastball for out No. 2 and
Heather Peacock to ground out to third base.
After a quiet fifth and sixth inning at the plate, ACU put their first two runners on in the seventh and then loaded them with two outs following
Demi McNulty's single back to the circle. That brought freshman
Anna Jones to the plate, who after fouling off three straight pitches grounded softly to short for the game's final out.
Sanchez ended her day with 128 pitches and allowed just four hits, none of which left the infield. She also walked one batter.
The Wildcats drove some shots to the outfield earlier in the game, but because the wind was blowing in from the west at more than 20 mph, hits that would have ordinarily left the park became routine catches. In the first,
Courtney Flanary was robbed of extra-bases by center fielder Alex Zepeda, who made a catch on the run toward the right-center gap.
ACU returns to action Tuesday of next week for a three-game Spring Break Invitational hosted by Texas Woman's, where they'll twice play St. Edward's in addition to Texas A&M-International. The Wildcats will stay in Denton through the weekend for a three-game set with the Pioneers.
