Softball | 3/24/2016 12:09:00 PM
Live Stats | Video
ABILENE – Winners of nine of its last 11 games, including its first two Southland Conference series, second-place Abilene Christian visits third-place Central Arkansas this weekend for a three-game series at Farris Field.
The Wildcats and Bears play a 4 p.m. doubleheader Friday and again noon Saturday. UCASports.com will offer live stats and a video stream of all three games.
UCA leads the all-time series 3-0 after sweeping last year's series at Poly Wells Field by scores of 5-4, 6-4 and 7-6. However, the Wildcats have already taken a pair of conference series from schools that beat them the two previous seasons: Lamar and Southeastern Louisiana.
ACU (11-12, 5-1 Southland) last week held the league's best offense to a .274 batting average in defeating the Cardinals in two of three games. Lamar scored eight of its 13 runs in game one, and came close to being shut out by pitchers
Allison Turner and
Hannah Null in game two, falling 7-1. The Wildcats completed the doubleheader sweep by coming back from an early 2-0 deficit in game three to beat the Cardinals, 6-4.
Twenty runners left on base and five errors additionally hurt Lamar.
The Wildcats, meanwhile, hit .284 and scored 16 runs with eight of their hits going for extra bases. Sophomores
Peyton Hedrick and
Brianna Barnhill each hit home runs and senior
Demi McNulty ripped two doubles and a three-run triple in the series finale that put her team ahead 6-2 in the sixth inning.
Barnhill received honorable mention for Southland Conference Hitter of the Week after finishing the series with a .444 batting average.
ACU's one loss in the series was enough the drop the Wildcats into second place in the Southland Conferece, 1.0 game behind the Cowgirls of McNeese (19-6, 6-0 Southland) who outscored Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in their series 27-1. Five of McNeese's six conference wins have been by run rule.
Central Arkansas (20-10, 4-2 Southland) has won its first two series to keep pace with the Wildcats and Cowgirls, and in midweek action this Tuesday and Wednesday the Bears went on the road to beat both Mississippi Valley State, 7-0, and No. 25 Mississippi State, 1-0.
Sam Forrest (29 hits, 9 doubles) and Jessie Taylor (.303, 6 HR, 24 RBI) lead the UCA offense, while the pitching is anchored by the duo of Shivaun Landeros and Kayla Gomness. Landeros leads the Southland with 12 wins and both pitchers are ranked among the league's top-10 leaders in ERA, 2.59 and 2.86.
For the Wildcats, they have three hitter ranked among the conference's top-10 home run leaders with Hedrick and Neese each hitting five and Barnhill right behind them with four. Leadoff batter
Taylor Brown again is tops with four triples and has drawn 13 walks.
Null is one of the Southland's top-10 pitchers in opposing batting average (.258), innings pitched (67.2), strikeouts (57) and wins (6).
