NACOGDOCHES, Texas - Senior
Cara Hoover and sophomore
Peyton Hedrick each hit two-run home runs and
Hannah Null tossed a complete game with five strikeouts, leading Abilene Christian softball to a 6-1 rubber-game victory Saturday at Stephen F. Austin.
The series win was a first for the Wildcats over the Ladyjacks, who entered this weekend with a 5-1 series lead. The victory also evened ACU's season record to 18-18 and lifted its Southland Conference record to 12-6. SFA, meanwhile, fell to 19-23 and 8-9.
Hoover's and Hedrick's home runs were launched in the second and third innings as the Wildcats built a quick 4-1 lead for their ace Null, who scattered five hits and issued no walks in winning her 10th game of the spring.
The Ladyjacks scored their lone run in the bottom of the second when catcher Taylor Fraccastoro cracked her fifth homer of the year over the left-field wall.
For the Wildcats, Hoover hit her second home run of the year in the second inning off starter Hannah Welch (1-5), while Hedrick's ninth round-tripper of 2016 was against reliever Brittany Lewis.
ACU later tacked on a pair of seventh-inning insurance runs with senior
Demi McNulty scoring on a passed ball and junior
Taylor Brown coming home on a RBI ground ball by
Holly Neese. Brown went 1-for-4 today after setting the school's single-game record with six hits last night in a 7-6 (10 inning) victory over the Ladyjacks.
McNulty had a third of the Wildcats' base hits today, going 3-for-3 with two runs scored.
The Wildcats return to action Wednesday with a 6 p.m. game at Texas Tech. The Red Raiders defeated ACU, 6-1 earlier this season, at Poly Wells Field.
