Softball | 4/23/2015 11:01:00 AM
Live Video | Live Stats (G1), (G2), (G3)
ABILENE - Abilene Christian softball returns home this weekend to Poly Wells Field for the final time in 2015 and will welcome the Islanders of Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. Their series begins Friday with a 4 p.m. doubleheader and concludes Saturday at noon.
All three games will have live stats and be streamed on ACU's Stretch Internet page. The 'Voice of the Wildcats'
Grant Boone and
Hannah Null will provide the play-by-play and analysis.
The Wildcats are coming off a 1-2 weekend at Sam Houston State in which several of their players ripped four hits off Bearkat pitching. Freshman
Brianna Barnhill went 4-for-10 and delivered the game-winning RBI in the ninth inning of game-three, while shortstop
Peyton Hedrick hit a two-run home run in the seventh, which was her 10th of the spring.
Sophomore
Taylor Brown also had an exceptional series on the base paths, collecting her Southland-leading ninth triple and stealing her ninth, 10th and 11th bases on three attempts.
Freshman
Kaleigh Lightsey additionally did well in a limited role, delivering four singles in five at-bats that lifted her season-batting average to .370.
In the circle, junior
Julia Montoya won her sixth game of the season in relief of
Emily Seidel in game three by tossing three scoreless innings of one-hit ball. Seidel, meanwhile, posted a respectable 2.76 ERA in 12.2 innings vs. the Bearkats. She now ranks second in the Southland with 161.2 innings pitched and sixth with 83 strikeouts.
Hedrick's 4-for-12 weekend kept her second to Southeastern's Katie Lacour in the Southland batting average race, .484 to .454. Hedrick also is second to Lacour with 59 hits and second to McNeese catcher Erika Piancastelli with a .926 slugging percentage.
Hedrick's name appears in 10 Southland offensive leader categories, including runs, RBI, triples, home runs, stolen bases and on-base percentage, all of which helped her earn finalist honors for NFCA Freshman of the Year.
In addition to being first in triples Brown is tied with Hedrick for fifth with 38 runs and has the ninth most runs with 52. She also remains one of the toughest strikeouts in the conference with only four whiffs.
The Islanders are coming off a Wednesday night extra-inning loss at Texas State, which dropped their season record to 15-25-1. They are 10-10 vs. the Southland after winning two vs. Houston Baptist in a rain-shortened series.
Corpus is batting .264 as a team led by everyday starters Brittney Morse (.339), Mickayla Cochran (.320), and Hayley Galloway (.304), while in the circle they are anchored by Stephanie Flores (4-8, 3.55 ERA) and Liz Carter (10-15, 3.61).
Both are among the league leaders in strikeouts with 87 and 64, respectively.
ACU swept the Islanders at home last season by scores of 5-0, 9-1 and 7-6.
