ABILENE -- Less than 24 hours after posting one of their best offensive games of the 2016 season, the ACU Wildcats had no answer Sunday afternoon for Houston Baptist pitcher Zach Carter, who tossed a complete game to lead the Huskies to a 4-1 series-clinching win over the Wildcats at Crutcher Scott Field.
Carter -- who improved to 1-1 in his fourth start of the season -- limited the Wildcats to four singles, a lonesome sixth-inning run and not much else as as the Huskies bounced back to win the Southland Conference baseball series from the Wildcats. It was just late Saturday evening when the Wildcats were putting the finishing touches on a 15-hit, nine-run offensive outburst in a 9-0 victory.
But Sunday, Carter needed just 99 pitches to go through the Wildcats, who are now 11-19 overall and 3-9 in the Southland. Carter's effort pushes the Huskies back above .500 to 16-15 and 7-5. Carter walked just one and struck out five Wildcats, and his defense turned three double plays behind him to keep the ACU offense from ever getting untracked.
After being shut out in 13 straight innings by ACU pitching dating back to the final four innings of Friday's series-opener and through all nine innings of
Aaron Mason's complete-game gem Saturday night, HBU wasted little time getting the lead on
Kyle Carroll.
The Huskies got a run in the first on an RBU single from Austin Saenz before adding another run in the third on another RBI single by Saenz. The lead grew to 3-0 in the top of the fourth on an RBI single from Louie Payetta.
The HBU defense turned inning-ending double plays in the first, second and seventh innings. The Wildcats scratched their only run of the game in the sixth when
Hunter Markwardt was to lead off the inning and stole second before he came home on an RBI single to right-centerfield by
Aaron Draper. But Carter got out of trouble by getting freshman
Derek Scott to ground out and striking out junior
Russell Crippen to end the frame.
After getting the double play to end the seventh, Carter retired each of the final six Wildcats to close out the win for the Huskies.
ACU will return to action Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. against No. 1 Texas A&M at Blue Bell Park in College Station. Last year in College Station, the Wildcats dropped a 3-2 heartbreaker to then-No. 1 Texas A&M.
