Video Stream | Live Stats (G1) | Live Stats (G2) | Live Stats (G3)
ABILENE - Abilene Christian's softball team will look to bounce back from some recent defeats this weekend when it plays host to Houston Baptist at Poly Wells Field. Games begin Saturday at 12 p.m. (DH) and Sunday at 1 p.m.
ACUSports.com also will provide live stats and
video stream of all three contests with
Grant Boone providing the play-by-play.
The Wildcats enter the weekend with an overall record of 18-25 and 7-7 mark against the Southland Conference as this week they followed a series loss at second-place Sam Houston State with a 5-1 defeat Wednesday night at UT-Arlington. Their .500 record vs. the league is good for fifth place in the 12-team league, with HBU right behind them at 10-11.
ACU is hitting .301 this season led by youngsters
Taylor Brown and
Paige Stevens. Brown - a freshman - is batting .361 with 13 stolen bases, 25 runs, 17 RBI and six extra-base hits, while Stevens - a sophomore - is batting .359 with similar totals of 21 runs, 10 RBI and five extra-base hits.
Senior
Lyndi Smith's power numbers continue to show up among the conference leaders as well. She currently ranks four with nine home runs and 36 RBI, sixth with 78 total bases, and 10th with a .574 slugging percentage.
The series loss at Sam Houston combined with the five runs allowed at UTA pushed ACU's team earned-run average up to 4.31, however, freshman
Hannah Null still ranks among the Southland's top-five leaders with a 2.74 ERA. She also ranks fourth with 11 wins, 151 strikeouts and 148 innings pitched, third with four shutouts, fifth with 13 complete games and sixth with a .248 opponents' batting average.
Senior
Peyton Mosley is coming off a strong outing as she pitched the Wildcats' best game last weekend vs. the Bearkats, holding them to two runs (one earned) on four hits and two walks. She also struck out two in the 7.0-inning complete game victory, helped along the way by a pair of two-run hits by senior
Madison Buckley.
Despite playing with 14-woman roster, Houston Baptist (17-24) comes to town as winners of four of its last six games. This stretch includes a series win at Central Arkansas and split with its crosstown rival Houston Cougars. The Huskies were edged in game one by UH, 2-1, but came back to win game two, 6-5.
HBU is batting .293 as a team and has four big hitters in the heart of its lineup - Kirsten Schwirtlich (.388), Lauren Schwirtlich (.381), Shay Orsak (.381) and Alyssa Burnett (.348) - that have combined for 42 doubles, 20 home runs and 99 RBI.
In the circle, HBU is led by Emily Mueller's seven wins, 2.93 ERA and eight complete games. Kendall Stiefel leads her club with 62 strikeouts, two saves and three shutouts.
