Softball | 3/18/2015 1:20:00 PM
Live Video (Friday only) | Live Stats (G1), (G2), (G3)
ABILENE - On-and-off rain showers in the forecast forced the Abilene Christian and Central Arkansas softball teams to adjust the start times of their much-anticipated Southland Conference series Friday and Saturday at Poly Wells Field.
The Wildcats and Bears begin their series Friday with a single game at 6 p.m. and will follow up with a Saturday doubleheader, starting at 4 p.m.
Live stats will be made available for all three contests. Friday's game will additionally be web streamed on ACUSports.com.
The Wildcats (5-18, 1-5 Southland) are coming off one of their biggest wins of the season Tuesday night as they rallied from four runs down to defeat UT Arlington on the road, 7-6.
The Mavs scored four times in the first and were ahead of ACU 5-1 after two when the Wildcats began to climb back into the game with a run in the third and four in the fourth.
Freshman shortstop
Peyton Hedrick made it a 5-2 game in the third with an RBI single, and in the fourth she drove in her second run on a bases-loaded fielder's choice. She would later double and score a run in the sixth to finish the game 2-of-3 with a run and two RBI.
Hedrick ranks second in the Southland Conference with a .444 batting average and is among the league's top-10 hitters in terms of slugging (.653) and on-base percentage (.487). She's also fourth with 32 hits and tied for fifth with seven doubles.
After Hedrick's second RBI cut the Mavs' lead to 5-4,
Holly Neese gave the Wildcats the lead for good with a two-out, two-run single down the left-field line.
Earning her second win of the season for the Wildcats was junior transfer
Julia Montoya, who shut the Mavs out from the third through six innings despite striking out just one batter. Montoya got into a little trouble with two outs in the seventh, but senior
Emily Seidel hammered down the save by getting Rebecca Stokes to fly out to right field on the first pitch with the game-tying run at second base.
The win provided quite a boost of confidence to the young Wildcats, who were swept last weekend at the hands of Lamar. The Cardinals and Bears are two of four undefeated Southland Conference teams all tied for first place at 6-0.
Central Arkansas is off to a fine start at 18-7 and recently had its nine-game winning streak snapped Tuesday night at Oklahoma State, falling 4-0 to the Cowgirls.
The Bears are hitting .299 as a team with 142 runs scored and 21 home runs, while their pitching staff has posted an ERA of 3.22, which is the third lowest in the Southland.
Hurler Kylee Studioso is tops in the league with 117 strikeouts and 13 wins and second only to Seidel (106.1) with 103.2 innings pitched. Seidel is second in the conference with 66Ks, 10 ahead of third-place Callee Guffey of Stephen F. Austin.
