Box Score
ABILENE -- ACU freshman first baseman
Russell Crippen continued his torrid start to the season Sunday afternoon as he led the Wildcats to a 14-4 win over Arlington Baptist and a sweep of the team's season-opening series at Crutcher Scott Field.
Crippen had three hits -- including a first-inning grand slam -- and drove in five runs to help the Wildcats to the program's first 3-0 start since the 2010 season when they started 6-0 on their way to winning 50 games.
The Wildcats -- who scored a total of 12 first-inning runs in the three-game sweep of the Patriots got everything they would need Sunday in an eight-run first inning that was highlighted by Crippen's blast to left field, his second home run of the season. That home run, along with an RBI single by
Tyler Eager, gave the wildcats a 5-0 lead.
Immediately following the grand slam,
Heath Beasley doubled and scored on a one-out, RBI single by
Gunnar Buhner. With two outs, leadoff hitter
Seth Spivey -- batting for the second tim ein the inning -- was hit by a pitch, and then freshman shortstop
Aaron Draper followed with a two-run double to left-centerfield to drive in Buhner and Spivey to make it 8-0.
That was more than enough offense for three ACU pitchers, who allowed four runs on eight hits, but struck out nine Patriots.
Austin Lambright got the start, but went just three innings before being lifted in favor of
Stuart Patke, who worked 2 2/3 innings to pick up the win.
Brady Rodriguez worked the final 1 1/3 innings to finish it off for ACU.
The Wildcats tacked on two runs in the third and two more in the sixth to carry a 12-4 lead to the seventh inning.
With one out,
Jordan Forrester singled and went to second when Spivey was hit by a pitch. Both runners advanced on a double steal before Forrester scored on an RBI groundout by Draper. After Eager was hit by a pitch,
Kyle Giusti hit what should have been an inning-ending ground ball to third baseman D.J. Johnson.
However, it turned into a game-ending error when Johnson threw the ball away, allowing Spivey to score and putting an end to the game via the 10-run rule.
The Wildcats' competition will get much stronger this coming weekend when they host the Al Scott Memorial Classic at Crutcher Scott Field with Central Arkansas and New Jersey Tech in the field.
ACU will play UCA at 4 p.m. Friday, and then Saturday and Sunday the schedules are the same: UCA vs. New Jersey Tech at 11 a.m. and ACU vs. New Jersey Tech at 4 p.m.
Last season the Bears won the Southland Conference Post-Season Tournament and reached the championship game of the Starkville Regional before falling to eventual national runner-up Mississippi State in the title game. UCA and eventual national champion UCLA were the only two teams last year outside the SEC to beat Mississippi State.
