BOBBY REEVES INTERVIEW WITH GRANT BOONE
KEANNA WINKFIELD INTERVIEW WITH GRANT BOONE
ABILENE – The Abilene Christian softball team begins its second straight weekend on the road this Friday and Saturday when it visits the second-ranked Lady Buffs of West Texas A&M. ACU is 2-3 this season vs. teams nationally ranked by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA).
The series begins Friday at 6 p.m. followed by Saturday's 1 p.m. doubleheader, which will be broadcast live in Abilene on AM-1280 KSLI. GoBuffsGo.com also will provide live stats and video for all three games.
The Wildcats begin their week at 21-17 overall and 5-7 vs. the Lone Star Conference following last weekend's series win at Texas A&M-Kingsville that moved them up to seventh place. ACU bested the Javelinas in games one and two by scores of 6-0 and 6-3, but lost a 6-0 lead in game three en route to a disappointing 8-7 defeat.
Despite being part of game three's setback, senior
Caitlyn Crain finished the weekend with a win, save and 19 strikeouts. Crain twice matched her ACU career high against the Javelinas with eight strikeouts in games one and three, and in game two, she earned her third save of the season after striking out Kingsville's No. 2, 3 and 4 batters with the bases loaded.
Senior
Shelby Hall, meanwhile, went 1-1 and struck out four through 7.0 innings of work, which helped lower her season ERA to 2.25.
Junior
Peyton Mosley did not pitch at Kingsville due to injury, but is expected to be available for the series in Canyon.
Offensively,
Keanna Winkfield extended her hitting streak to 10 games with a 7-for-11 (.636) weekend vs. the Javelinas. The senior centerfielder went 4-for-4 (all singles) in game one with three RBI and a run, and followed that performance with a 2-for-4 effort that included two insurance runs in the fifth and seventh innings.
Winkfield's four hits tied her season and career high. Additionally, she has 13 multi-hit games this season, and has raised her average over 30 points during her hitting streak to .397.
Winkfield also is ranked among the LSC's offensive leaders with 50 hits, 31 runs and three triples.
Lyndi Smith, who hit .400 last weekend with a 1.000 slugging percentage, has the league's sixth-most doubles with 10 and eighth-most total bases with 73.
West Texas A&M (27-4, 9-3 LSC) fell to second place in the conference and to No. 2 in nation after losing two of three games at Angelo State. Renee Erwin, who is batting .388 with nine doubles, three triples and seven home runs leads the Lady Buffs on offense alongside slugger Jessica Sipe, who has blasted nine home runs and driven in 45 runs. Erwin is second on her team with 34 RBI.
The WT pitching staff is comprised of starters Hannah Newcomb (10-2, 2.77 ERA) and Amber Spencer (8-2, 3.08), and ace reliever Lauren Heinrich, who is 8-0 with three saves and a 3.07 ERA.
WT's team ERA of 2.95 ranks third in the LSC behind only Texas Woman's (2.20) and ACU (2.40).
The Wildcats lead their all-time series vs. West Texas A&M, 17-9, after winning three of four games last spring. ACU swept the Lady Buffs in Abilene during the regular season, but later lost to them, 5-1, in the Lone Star Conference Championship quarterfinals.
