Five-run sixth inning leads McMurry to 7-4 win over ACU

Monday, April 21

Abilene

3:30 p.m.

Abilene Christian

14-23

McMurry

20-22

McMurry

Abilene Christian

Photo by: Jeremy Enlow

Five-run sixth inning leads McMurry to 7-4 win over ACU

4/21/2014 7:16:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

By: Lance Fleming, SID

ABILENE -- McMurry scored five runs on five hits off a pair of ACU relief pitchers in the sixth inning Monday afternoon as War Hawks pulled off a 7-4 upset win over the Wildcats in non-conference baseball action at Crutcher Scott Field.

The loss for the Wildcats drops them to 14-23 overall, while the War Hawks improve to 20-22. McMurry's win is their first ever against the Wildcats in eight tries. ACU will be back in action this weekend with a three-game Southland Conference series in Houston against the Huskies of Houston Baptist.

ACU led 3-2 through five innings before the War Hawks exploded for five game-changing runs. Eric Preuss and Patrick Adams each delivered RBI singles to give McMurry a 4-3 lead, and then leadoff hitter Kyle Sarent ripped a two-run triple to the gap in right-centerfield to plate both Preuss and Adams to make it 6-3. Christian Simmons followed with an RBI double to make it 7-3.

In the inning, ACU relievers Ty Walker and Hunter Wakefield combined to give up five runs on five hits and walk one batter.

That's all the pitching trio of Joel DePorte, Ben Bates and Mitch Labbie would need as they limited the Wildcats to just one run and two hits in the last four innings. Those three combined to retire 10 of the final 11 ACU hitters as DePorte picked up the win to improve to 6-4 and Labbie picked up his third save.

For ACU, Brandon Grudzielanek was 3 for 4 with an RBI single, and Seth Spivey was 4 for 4 with two RBI. Wakefield was tagged with the loss to fall to 0-1.