ABILENE - A half-inning away from being run-ruled for the second time Friday afternoon, the Abilene Christian softball team scored nine-straight runs between the fifth and sixth innings only to be turned away in the seventh by a three-run homer that held up as the game-winner in a 14-13 loss to Stephen F. Austin at Poly Wells Field.
Freshman shortstop
Peyton Hedrick had an incredible night, going 4-for-4 with two home runs, three runs and four RBI. She hit a solo shot in the third for the Wildcats first run and got things rolling for their offense in the fifth with a leadoff walk.
ACU (9-28, 3-14 Southland) was down to its final three outs entering that frame trailing 11-1 after the Ladyjacks (14-26, 6-10) put up nine runs in their half. But after Hedrick drew that walk it turned into a veritable hit parade for the Wildcats as they ripped four-straight singles, including a two-run hit up the middle by
Alyson Bishoff.
Baylee Travers and
Kaleigh Lightsey delivered their own run-scoring hits to make it an 11-5 game, and with one out Hedrick blooped a single to right to plate
Melissa Rodriguez and a hard-charging
Demi McNulty, who scored all the way from second.
Hedrick raced to second on the throw home to get McNulty, but was eventually tagged out trying to stretch for third base.
The Wildcats tacked on another run in the sixth to close to within a run at 11-10 on Rodriguez' RBI looper to left, however, that feeling of elation was quickly extinguished when SFA first baseman Shalie Day crushed a three-run home run to right to push the Ladyjacks' lead back out to 14-10.
Day finished game two 5-for-5 with two singles, two doubles and five RBI.
ACU attempted one more serious comeback attempt in the seventh but the four-run deficit proved to be one run too many. Hedrick launched another leadoff home run to start the inning and three batters later Bishoff cracked a two-run shot over the wall in right for her third home run of the season to make it 14-13.
Travers followed with her third single, but with two outs Rodriguez was robbed of a hit by Alisa Hamilton who dove into shallow left-center field to make a snow cone catch.
Hamilton also stole an extra-base hit from
Taylor Brown the previous inning, making a leaping over-the-shoulder catch while running toward the left-field wall with the bases full of Wildcats.
Hedrick completed both ends of the doubleheader 5-for-6 with four runs and five RBI to lift her season batting, slugging and on-base percentages to .474, .860 and .520, respectively. She also stole a base, which was her 11th on 12 attempts.
Hedrick's round-trippers were her eighth and ninth of the spring, and her five RBI pushed her season total to a team-high 35.
ACU lost the first game to SFA, 12-4, in 6.0 innings with eight of the Ladyjack's runs coming in the third inning.Â
Holly Neese led the Wildcats that game with two hits and three RBI, while Brown ripped her eighth triple.
The Wildcats and Ladyjacks conclude their three-game series Saturday at noon.
