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ABILENE - Abilene Christian's softball team returns home to Poly Wells Field this week for four games as the Wildcats follow a Wednesday night contest against Texas-Arlington with a three-game series vs. Southland Conference rival Lamar.
All four games will have live stats, while Wednesday's game additionally will have a live video stream provided by Stretch Internet's Game Central.
The Wildcats begin their week three games under .500 at 16-19 (5-3 Southland) after splitting Saturday's doubleheader at Stephen F. Austin. The rubber game of their series was rained out and there are no plans to have it rescheduled.
ACU won its first game vs. the Ladyjacks in thrilling fashion, 4-3, coming back from a 2-0 deficit with two runs in the seventh followed by two more in the 10th.
SFA ace Carlie Thomas held the Wildcats in check for the better part of 6.0 innings, but things quickly fell apart for her in the seventh as she began the frame with a hit by pitch and single to ACU's No. 8 and 9 batters,
Anna Jones and
Demi McNulty.
Paige Stevens then tied the score at 2-2 with a double into the left-center gap.
ACU took its first lead of the game three innings later on
Madison Buckley's RBI double and added a crucial insurance run when Buckley came around on
Ashley Nolan's single to right-center field.
Buckley's run held up as the game-winner as SFA would score a third time in the bottom of the 10th when Elizabeth Arana singled in inherited runner Alisa Hamilton. Arana, however, would be left stranded at second base when freshman
Hannah Null finished her 136-pitch complete game with a fly ball to center by Brittany Lewis.
The second game, unfortunately, did not go as well for the Wildcats as their three pitchers combined to give up 12 runs on 14 hits in a 12-4 run-rule victory for the Ladyjacks.
Even though the 12 runs allowed by ACU were its most since a Feb. 28 loss to Sam Houston, the Wildcats still own one of the league's top ERA's at 4.13 led by Null's 2.52 that ranks her third behind the McNeese duo of Rachel Smith (1.37) and Jamie Allred (1.71).
Null also has the second most wins in the league with 10, ranks third in strikeouts (127), and fifth in innings pitched (119.2), opponents' batting average (.242) and complete games (11). Additionally, she and Thomas share the league lead in shutouts with four.
Null likely will be Wednesday night's starter against the Mavericks (15-23, 1-8 Sun Belt) who arrive in Abilene having lost of 14 of their last 16 games - one of which was a 2-1 decision to the Wildcats on March 8 at Texas Tech. In that game, Null worked around six hits and five walks to deliver a 131-pitch complete game that included included eight strikeouts.
ACU was down 1-0 to the Mavericks until the sixth when
Lyndi Smith tied the game with a RBI single. The Wildcats then took the lead in the top of the eighth on a fielding error by shortstop Nina Villanueva. In the bottom of the inning, Null retired the side in order on just five pitches, getting a ground ball, fly out and foul ball to the catcher.
Texas-Arlington can pitch as evident by its 3.52 staff ERA, but the offense has collectively struggled as only one Maverick player - Villanueva (.313) - is batting over .300. UTA's defense also has been suspect at times with the left side of its infield combining for 31 of the team's 61 errors (.947 fielding percentage).
Leading the Mavericks' pitching staff are Callie Collins (3.17) and Shannon Carrico (3.20), each of whom is 7-9. Collins leads her team with 110 strikeouts, while Carrico has 51.
Lamar will play a couple games against Alcorn State this week before making its first appearance in Abilene. The Wildcats and Cardinals will play a Saturday doubleheader at 2 p.m, followed by a single game Sunday at 1 p.m.
Lamar (15-15, 10-4 SLC) is currently the second-place team in the Southland Conference after a sweep of Houston Baptist last weekend put them 1.0-game behind leader McNeese State (27-10, 11-3 SLC). The Cardinals beat the Huskies by scores of 5-2, 9-5 and 9-2, helping them forget a five-game losing streak that preceded this series.
Earlier this spring, Lamar took 2 of 3 vs. Southeastern Louisiana, swept a doubleheader from Nicholls and a three-game series from Central Arkansas before losing three straight at Sam Houston State. The Cardinals have a fine home record of 8-1, but are 7-14 away from Beaumont, Texas.
Lamar's offense is hitting .292 led by the trio of Casey Cromwell (.350), Beverly Corry (.349) and Tina Schulz (.329), each of who has six home runs.
Cardinal pitching has a 4.13 ERA as is carried by the duo of Schulz (7-8, 3.67 ERA, 36 K) and Shannon Millman (6-7, 4.40 ERA, 41 K).
