Wildcats hit the road to Stillwater to take on #22 Oklahoma State

Baseball | 3/10/2016 8:33:00 PM

Abilene Christian (8-4) vs. #22 Oklahoma State (7-6)
Allie P. Reynolds Stadium (4,000)
Stillwater, Okla.
 
Friday, March 11 (2 p.m.): Watch / Listen l Live Stats
Saturday, March 12 (2 p.m.): Watch / Listen l Live Stats
Sunday, March 13 (1 p.m.): Watch / Listen l Live Stats
 
Starting Pitchers
Friday: RHP Kyle Carroll (ACU) vs. RHP Thomas Hatch (OSU)
Saturday: RHP Garrett deMeyere (ACU) vs. RHP Jensen Elliott (OSU)
Sunday: LHP Aaron Mason (ACU) vs. RHP Trey Cobb (OSU)

Game Notes: ACU l Oklahoma State
 
Abilene Christian
   The Wildcats are back on the road this weekend to take on the Cowboys of Oklahoma State in a three-game series at Allie P. Reynolds Stadium. ACU is 8-4 on the season and 2-1 in Southland Conference play after taking 2 of 3 games from Nicholls last weekend in Thibodaux, La.
   Junior third baseman Aaron Draper and senior catcher Alex Copeland are leading the Wildcats in hitting at .313 on the season with Draper topping the team with seven RBI. Utility player Austin Call – who has started a couple of games at designated hitter and a couple more at third base – is hitting .375 with three RBI in just 16 at-bats.
   The Wildcats are hitting .255 as a team and hit their first two home runs of the season last weekend against Nicholls. Both of those home runs – from Russell Crippen and Draper – came last Friday against the Colonels.
   ACU's strength through its first four games has been a pitching staff that has a cumulative ERA of 2.38 and has allowed just a .209 opponents' batting average. Righthanded pitchers Kyle Carroll (2-1, 0.00 ERA) and Garrett deMeyere (2-0, 1.40) will start each of the first two games, respectively, before lefthander Aaron Mason (3-0, 2.12 ERA) starts in the third game of the series.
 
Oklahoma State
 Led by Donnie Walton and his .383 batting average, the Cowboys are hitting a collective .236 while the pitching staff owns a 2.48 ERA. 
     The Cowboys are coming off a 38-20 season in which they made their third consecutive NCAA Regional appearance, and expectations are again high. OSU was ranked in the top 10 nationally in four different preseason polls and returns seven starters from 2015, including All-Big 12 Conference performers Walton, Ryan Sluder and Corey Hassel.
     The 2016 season will mark OSU's fourth under Holliday, who compiled a 127-57 record in his first three seasons at his alma mater. 
 
ACU vs. Nationally Ranked Teams
   Since beginning its transition to NCAA Division I affiliation 2013-14, the Wildcats are 0-13 against nationally ranked teams, including five losses to Oklahoma State's Big 12 rival Texas Tech.
   The Wildcats were 0-4 against nationally ranked teams in 2014 and 0-9 against those teams in 2015. Of those nine losses, five were by three runs or loss with the Wildcats  falling four times by one run, including in games against No. 1 Texas A&M (3-2), No. 2 TCU (4-3), and Texas Tech twice (6-5 in 16 innings and 7-6). This weekend's series is the Wildcats' first nationally ranked opponent of the season.
 
Pitching Staff on Fire
   Under the direction of pitching coach Brad Flanders, the ACU pitching staff is off to one of its best starts in years having held the opposition to just 81 hits and 38 runs (28 earned) in 106.0 innings of work through 12 games. Only one opponent – Oklahoma with 7 – has scored more than four runs in a game this season, and if you take away the OU seven-run outburst, ACU is allowing, on average, 2.82 runs allowed per game.
   ACU pitchers have allowed  81 hits, but only 16 of those have been of the extra-base variety with opponents collecting 12 doubles and four home runs. Opponents are hitting just .186 against Carroll, followed by .225 against deMeyere and .234 against Mason.
 
Palacios on Pace
   Senior closer Nick Palacios has five saves through the first 12 games of the season, which is more than any Wildcat has had in a full season since Brady Rodriguez had six saves in 2013. Prior to that, the most saves in a season belonged to Brad Rutherford, who had 11 saves in 2009 and 10 saves for a 50-win team in 2010. ACU's all-time single-season record for saves is 20 by Jameson Maj in 2007 when he led all of collegiate baseball in saves. If he keeps up his current pace, Palacios will record a school-record 23 saves in 2016.
 
Turning the Corner?
   The Wildcats are in their third season of transition to NCAA Division I status, but trying to turn the corner from Division II powerhouse to Division I contender is tough. ACU, though, could be showing signs of turning the corner in 2016 if early signs are any indication.
   Last year ACU didn't win its eighth game of the season until a 3-1 win over eventual Southland Conference champion Houston Baptist on April 4 in the season's 28^th game. The win pushed ACU's record to 8-20 on the season.
 
Brutal Stretch Coming Up for Wildcats
   This weekend's series marks the beginning of a brutal 15-game, 24-day stretch for the Wildcats that could define their season. After the three games against the 22^nd-ranked Cowboys, ACU will be back at home Tuesday for a non-Division I game against Texas-Permian Basin (7-13 in the Division II Heartland Conference) before hosting pre-season Southland Conference favorite Southeastern Louisiana (7-6) for three games March 18-20.
   The Wildcats will then be in Fort Worth on Tuesday, March 22, to take on No. 7 TCU (10-2) at Lupton Stadium before heading to Lake Charles, La., to take on the McNeese State Cowboys (6-5) for three Southland Conference games (March 24-26).
   ACU will then host Dallas Baptist (9-3) on Tuesday, March 29, at Crutcher Scott Field before finishing the stretch with three non-conference games against conference foe Lamar (9-4) April 1-3. The Cardinals already have a win over No. 5 LSU on their resume this season.