ABILENE – ACU gave up six unearned runs and Dallas Baptist scored 10 two-out runs Tuesday night as the 15th-ranked Patriots knocked off the Wildcats, 11-6, in non-conference baseball action at Crutcher Scott Field.
The loss drops the Wildcats to 5-16 overall, while the Patriots improve to 19-3 with the win. ACU will be back in action this weekend with a non-conference series at Southland Conference rival Lamar. The games will be considered non-conference because it is each team's open weekend, and they scheduled a three-game non-conference series in Beaumont.
ACU starting pitcher
Austin Lambright was tagged with the loss after giving up three first-inning runs on three hits before getting out of the frame.
Joe Gawrieh gave up two runs on two hits in the second inning, and then
Nate Cole gave up one run in two innings of work as the Patriots jumped out to a 6-0 lead through 3 1/2 innings.
But the Wildcats struck back with four runs in the bottom of the fourth against DBU relief pitcher Landon Wilson, cutting the DBU lead to 6-4.
Tyler Eager reached with a leadoff walk and then was safe at second on an error by DBU shortstop Camden Duzenack.
Jeff Clarke then tripled to the right field corner to drive in both Eager and
Alex Copeland to make it 6-2.
Taylor Waters then singled to drive in Clarke to make it 6-3, and later scored on another throwing error by Duzenack, making it a 6-4 game.
It appeared as though ACU's third relief pitcher of the game –
Brandon Lambright – would settle the game a bit when he retired the first two men he faced in the top of the fifth on just three pitches. But that's when the bottom fell out for both Lambright and the ACU defense.
Lambright gave up back-to-back two-out walks and then threw a pitch that got past the Wildcats' catcher, Copeland, to allow both runners to move into scoring position. Shortly after that, another passed scored Justin Wall and allowed David Martinelli to move to third base. And then with a two-strike count to Trooper Reynolds, another pitch got through Copeland for a passed, allowing Martinelli to score and Wall to reach first base. After Chane Lynch singled and moved Reynolds to third, ACU head coach
Britt Bonneau brought in
Nick Palacios to pitch to try and get the Wildcats out of the inning.
But on a 1-0 pitch, Tagg Duce who had three hits and drove in six runs – blasted a three-run home run just to the left of dead centerfield to drive in three more and put DBU on top 11-4. In the inning, DBU scored five two-out runs with only two hits while ACU had three passed balls and one wild pitch.
That frame matched the first four innings when the Wildcats gave up three runs in the first (two with two outs), a pair of two-out runs in the second and another two-out run in the fourth. In those four innings, the Wildcats committed three errors in the field and their pitchers allowed seven walks.
"We didn't do a good job on the mound in the first two innings, but then we did some good things offensively in the fourth inning to get back in the game," Bonneau said. "We just fell apart with two outs in the fifth inning. We're putting young guys out on the field and putting them under the lights and asking them to perform. They have to learn, and they have to learn what it's like to play under some pressure."
ACU answered back with two runs in the bottom of the fifth on a two-run double to left by Copeland to cut the lead to 11-6, but Copeland was left stranded at second and the Wildcats would only get four base runners the rest of the game as DBU's final three relief pitchers – Jay Calhoun, Sean Stutzman and Brandon Koch – allowed just one hit and struck out seven over the final four innings.
The back end of the Wildcats' bullpen was just as effective as
Ladgie Zotyka (two innings) and
Kevin Sheets (one inning) combined to allow just one single (a single by Duzenak off Sheets with two outs in the ninth) and strike out eight Patriots. Zotyka, in fact, struck out five of the six men he faced, and Sheets struck out the side in the top of the ninth.
Copeland and Clarke each had a pair of RBI for the Wildcats, while Clarke and
Taylor Waters each had two hits for ACU.
