Baseball | 4/21/2015 10:33:00 PM
Box Score MIDLAND – The ACU Wildcats have played so many close games against top 25 competition this season, that it should have come as no surprise they were tied with No. 18 Texas Tech going to the bottom of the seventh inning Tuesday night at Security Bank Ballpark.
But what happened next was a surprise for a team that hasn't buckled under the strain of four one-run losses to top 25 teams, including a pair last week to Texas Tech and No. 1 Texas A&M. The Wildcats committed three errors and gave up eight runs in the bottom of the seventh as the Red Raiders blew open a tight game on their way to a 10-2 win over the Wildcats, their 10th straight loss to the Red Raiders.
ACU is now 9-29 on the season, while the Red Raiders improve to 26-15. The Wildcats are back to Southland Conference action this weekend with a three-game series at Stephen F. Austin. The series starts Friday night in Nacogdoches and continues with a 2 p.m. game Saturday and a 1 p.m. game Sunday.
The Wildcats entered Tuesday night's neutral-site game 0-4 on the season against the three best college baseball teams in Texas, but having played their best baseball of the season in those four games. ACU had lost 6-5 in 16 innings at No. 6 Texas Tech on March 3, 4-3 to No. 2 TCU at home on April 6, 7-6 at home to No. 19 Texas Tech on April 14 and 3-2 last Wednesday at No. 1 Texas A&M. So trailing 2-0 going to the sixth inning meant the Wildcats had the Red Raiders right where they wanted them.
ACU took advantage of some sloppy defensive play by Texas Tech to get a run in the bottom of the sixth to make it a 2-1 game. With one out,
Kyle Carroll reached when his pop up to right field was dropped by second baseman Michael Davis after he collided with right fielder Anthony Lyons. After a single by
Aaron Draper put runners at first and second, Tech pitcher Ty Damron got
Taylor Waters to pop up to first base for the second out. With two outs, ACU first baseman
Tyler Eager singled into left field to drive in Carroll to cut Tech's lead to 2-1.
In the seventh, the Red Raiders were sloppy in the field and again the Wildcats took advantage to score the game-tying run.
Marcelle Carter led off with a walk and went to second on a single by
Russell Crippen. After a strikeout,
Colton Hall flew out to Lyons in right field, but Carter tagged to go to third. Lyons' throw was off line and that allowed Crippen to move up to second. Tech third baseman Orlando Garcia picked up the loose ball and made a poor throw to second, allowing Carter to race home with the game-tying run.
But a tie game late only seemed to make the Red Raiders mad as they came up in the seventh against
Ladgie Zotyka and put the first seven men of the inning on base. ACU didn't help its cause with three errors, but Garcia had an RBI single, Lyons an RBI walk, Tanner Gardner a two-run double, Hunter Hargrove an RBI single and Eric Gutierrez an RBI groundout as the Red Raiders posted their biggest offensive inning of the season.
"We played really well until the bottom of the seventh," ACU head coach
Britt Bonneau said. "We threw the ball around too much, and that got the ball rolling downhill. We just didn't make the plays in the field we had to make to stay in the game or win it."
The bottom of the seventh negated decent outings by both starter
Nate Cole and reliever
Kevin Sheets. Cole pitched in the fourth inning, giving up five hits and two runs (one earned), while walking five and striking out six. He threw 105 pitches as he continually worked into and out of trouble. Sheets pitched two scoreless innings, giving up one hit and one walk while striking out three Red Raiders. Zotyka — who gave up seven runs (five earned) on four hits and didn't retire a batter — was tagged with the loss as he falls to 2-2.
