Box Score
ABILENE –
Seth Spivey homered and drove in five runs and
Nate Cole struck out 10 in his Wildcat debut Friday to lead ACU to a season-opening 12-2 run-rule win over Arlington Baptist in non-conference college baseball action at Crutcher Scott Field.
Spivey had a three-run home run in the second inning to give the Wildcats an insurmountable 5-0 lead, and then the Wildcats turned the game over to Cole, a 6-2, 220-pound right-hander who mixed a solid fastball with good off-speed stuff to keep the Patriots off balance.
Cole, a sophomore transfer from Cisco Junior College, struck out 10 Patriots in just five innings of work as the Wildcats finished off Arlington Baptist in seven innings. Cole allowed just four hits and one earned run while walking three batters en route to picking up the victory.
The Wildcats picked up two runs in the bottom of the first on a two-run triple by returning senior third baseman
Kyle Giusti. Spivey – who played mostly in the infield last year – got the start behind the plate on Friday, and it was his three-run home run to right field in the second inning that gave the Wildcats a 5-0 lead.
ACU's freshmen group took over in the third to put five runs on the board and put the game out of reach for the Wildcats.
Brandon Grudzielanek – the nephew of former major leaguer Mark Grudzielanek – single in a run before another freshman,
Gunnar Buhner – the son of former major league standout Jay Buhner – drove in two runs with a single to center field. Spivey then tripled to right-centerfield to drive in two runs to make it a 10-0 game.
Freshman
Russell Crippen hit a solo home run to left field for ACU in the fourth to make it an 11-1 game. After the Patriots got a run off
Brady Rodriguez – who was solid in two innings of relief work – the Wildcats won it in the bottom of the seventh when
Tyler Eager ripped a bases-loaded, two-out single to left field to plate
Jordan Forrester with the game-winning run.
