CONWAY, Ark. – Abilene Christian softball took advantage of several pitching and fielding errors during the final two frames of a 3-2 eight-inning victory at Central Arkansas Friday night to split a doubleheader with the Bears.
Central Arkansas took game one, 4-1, and was in position for the sweep until a couple of seventh-inning mishaps allowed the Wildcats to tie the score at 2-2.
Sophomore third baseman
Holly Neese drove home the game-winning run in the eighth as part of a 3-for-4 night at the plate, and in the inning prior she ignited the Wildcats comeback with an infield single to second baseman Sarah Bigej.
Bears' starter Kayla Gomness then hit sophomore right fielder
Brianna Barnhill with a pitch and loaded the bases after failing to field a hit off the bat of freshman left fielder
Miranda Herron. Senior
Cara Hoover ended UCA's bid for a shutout on a fielder's choice RBI and Barnhill scored the game-tying run after shortstop Kate Myers bobbled a ball put in play by junior
Casey-May Huff.
As the Wildcats were being two-hit by Gomness – who shutout No. 25 Mississippi State earlier this week – for much of the game, ACU's freshman starter
Allison Turner was perfecting a series of escape acts that resulted in 13 runners left on base.
Turner went the distance for ACU in tossing 147 pitches. Along the way she gave up seven hits, walked eight and hit two with six strikeouts mixed in. The Bears scored their first run in the second inning on a double steal, and took a 2-0 lead in the third on a two-out RBI single by designated player Bailey Reynolds.
Incredibly, Turner continually minimized the damage. She left the bases loaded in the first, and after the Bears went ahead 1-0 she got two fly balls to the left side in finishing the second. The Bears' second run came with two outs, and afterward she caught a pop up in the circle to strand two runners.
In the fifth inning, centerfielder
Taylor Brown helped the cause by throwing Hannah Stirton out at home plate, and in the sixth, two additional free passes were wasted after Turner got a foul out and ground ball to squash another potential threat.
Turner stayed aboard in the seventh with the score tied at 2-2 and elevated her pitch count once more as she walked two and hit another batter to load the bases with two outs.
But the Bears failed to capitalize.
Senior Amy Gunnells struck out looking to end the seventh, and in the eighth inning, UCA had a one-out single erased after Briana Whisenhunt was called out for leaving base early.
Bigej ended the game with a foul pop to shortstop
Peyton Hedrick, who scored the game-winning run a half inning earlier on Neese's RBI single back up the middle off reliever Shivaun Landeros. Neese wouldn't have had the opportunity to bring Hedrick home, however, if not for an error by third baseman Sam Forrest coupled with back-to-back steals of second and third base by the Wildcats' sophomore.
ACU's offense experienced some of the same frustrations in game one as the Bears had in game two, leaving seven runners on base and having three thrown out along the base paths en route to a 4-1 loss. The Wildcats ripped seven hits and drew two walks against UCA starter Landeros, but scored its only run in the third on Hedrick's RBI single that plated senior second baseman
Demi McNulty.
Hedrick would lead off the sixth with a double in her next at-bat only to get caught in a run down two batters later for the second out. In the seventh inning, still trailing by three runs, ACU got a pair of one-out singles from Herron and McNulty but they were left in scoring position as Landeros ended the game with a strikeout of left fielder
Alli Spivey.
Landeros struck out six Wildcats in winning her 13th game of the season, while redshirt sophomore
Hannah Null was saddled with the loss in falling to 6-7.
Null got hit hard in the second inning as three doubles led to two runs, and after the Wildcats made it a 2-1 game, UCA came right back with a RBI single in the third inning and a fourth-inning solo home run. Null allowed at least one base runner in each inning with the exception of the seventh, finishing with six strikeouts and 107 pitches.
The Wildcats and Bears conclude their three-game series Saturday at noon.
