ABILENE – Abilene Christian's softball team returns to Poly Wells Field for the first time in two weeks as the Wildcats begin a five-game homestand Wednesday vs. St. Mary's before welcoming in their Lone Star Conference rivals from Cameron for a three-game set starting Friday.
The doubleheader between Wildcats and Rattlers starts at 6 p.m. and will serve as the final meeting between two longtime regional rivals. St. Mary's leads the all-time series 31-13 following its 3-2 (eight-inning) victory over ACU on March 2 at Midwestern State.
ACU and St. Mary's split last season's four-game series, which featured three one-run games and two incredible comebacks by the Wildcats. ACU won both home games in walk-off fashion as it rallied back from late-inning deficits of 7-2 and 1-0, but on the road, the Wildcats offense was held in check and lost by scores of 4-1 and 1-0.
This year's St. Mary's squad has played well all season and comes to Abilene with an overall record of 31-12 and perfect 9-0 mark against the Heartland Conference. The Rattlers also were nationally ranked two weeks ago, but dropped out of the NFCA's Top 25 following a doubleheader sweep at Incarnate Word in which they lost both games by one run.
St. Mary's rebounded from those tough defeats, however, with a three-game series sweep of Texas A&M-International in Laredo, winning by scores of 11-1, 2-1 and 4-2.
The Rattlers' 2.40 team ERA is one of the best in D-II and their junior ace Emily Brittain has won 18 of her 21 starts to go along with two shutouts, 71 strikeouts and ERA of 2.28. Two other Rattler starters: Crystal Keller (1.82) and Vianna Gutierrez (1.99) also have ERAs below 2.00.
Gutierrez can also pound the ball and is St. Mary's second leading hitter (.436) behind Nicole Sardelich, who is batting .437 through 41 starts with 19 doubles, three home runs and 23 RBI. As a team, St. Mary's has launched 42 home runs and scored 262 runs behind a batting average of .310.
The Wildcats, meanwhile, come into the week on a four-game losing streak that has dropped their overall and conference records to 21-20 and 5-10. They currently occupy the eighth and final postseason spot for the Lone Star Conference Championship, 1.0 game ahead of Eastern New Mexico and 1.0 game behind seventh-place Cameron, which recently swept last-place Kingsville.
ACU dropped all three of its games last weekend at No. 2 West Texas A&M. The Lady Buffs smashed three home runs in game one's 8-0 victory, and then sent 14 batters to the plate during a nine-run first inning en route to a 11-1 triumph in game two.
WT appeared well on its way to another run-rule victory in game three as the Lady Buffs took a 7-0 lead in the second, but
Lyndi Smith and
Caitlyn Crain helped bring the Wildcats back to within a run. Smith clubbed a grand slam in the fifth that made it a 7-5 game, while
Caitlyn Crain matched her career high of eight strikeouts through 4.2 innings of relief.
ACU ultimately lost the game, 7-6, but had its shot to take the lead in the seventh as it brought the go-ahead run to the plate three times after
Sara Vaughn reached on a error to start the frame. However, two Wildcats popped up to the catcher and then
Courtney Flanary ended things with a ground ball to third base.
The Wildcats batted .275 as a team vs. the Lady Buffs led by outfielders
Madison Buckley and
Keanna Winkfield, each of who finished the series with four hits. Winkfield remains among the LSC leaders in batting average (.400), hits (54) and triples (3).
Cameron's sweep of Kingsville improved its season record to 13-22 and conference mark to 6-9. The Aggies this season also have defeated Tarleton State and took two of three from Incarnate Word after being swept at the start the year by Angelo State.
Cameron is batting .300 as a team, but its pitching (5.54) and fielding (.941) are ranked among the worst in the conference.
Spencer Ferrell is the Aggies' leading hitter with a .413 batting average, followed by Tara Martini (.395) and Sonia Foutch (.387). Sonora Zuckerman, meanwhile, ranks fifth in the LSC with nine home runs.
In the circle, Cameron's Samantha Betts ranks second in the LSC with 132 strikeouts through 132.2 innings pitched.
ACU leads its all-time series vs. Cameron, 32-17, and last season won two of three games in Lawton, Okla.
