Softball | 4/21/2016 4:05:00 PM
Live Stats (G1, G2, G3) | Audio
ABILENE – Abilene Christian softball plays host to its Southland Conference rivals from Sam Houston State this weekend for a three-game series at Poly Wells Field. Game times are Friday at 6 p.m. and Saturday at 12 and 2 p.m.
All three games will have live stats and accompanying audio stream.
The Wildcats (19-18, 12-6 Southland) have won their last three games and six of their last seven in moving a game above .500 for the first time all spring. ACU started the year 0-6 and 2-10 but have played well against the Southland, winning four of six series to remain within striking distance of first place with three weekends left in the regular season.
The Wildcats enter their series against Sam Houston State tied for fourth place at 12-6, 3.0 games behind the leaders from McNeese State, while the Bearkats come to the Key City with overall and conference marks of 15-28 and 7-11.
Sam Houston started the year 7-19 but appeared to turn the corner in late March / early April when the Bearkats won three midweek games before taking two of three from Southeastern Louisiana and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. But over the past week they've lost twice to UTSA and Houston Baptist, and last night they were run-ruled at Texas A&M, 18-4.
The Bearkats can hit as evident by a .282 team batting average, and Breanna Homer certainly lives up to her surname with a team-high eight-round trippers. Dani Allen is among the league's leaders as well with a .374 batting average and 30 scored, while Katie Doerre is hitting .347 with five home runs and 18 RBI.
Pitching and hitting, however, have hurt Sam Houston. The Bearkats' 70 errors have led to 62 unearned runs for a five-woman staff that currently owns a 5.29 ERA.
The Wildcats come into the Sam Houston series following a dramatic 3-1 win Wednesday at Texas Tech, which was the program's first through 11 games. ACU received a complete game from starter
Hannah Null, who scattered eight hits in 7.0 innings with five strikeouts, and the defense made several run-saving plays.
Shortstop
Peyton Hedrick and left fielder
Miranda Herron each made a juggling catch in the final innings, and earlier in the game, third baseman
Casey-May Huff and first-baseman
Holly Neese turned an inning-ending double play with runners at first and second base.
ACU's offense ripped 10 base hits, including a solo shot in the second inning by Herron – her first of the season – and capitalized on three Red Raider fielding errors. The Wildcats' took a 1-0 lead on a RBI single by
Taylor Brown following an errant throw by Texas Tech's starting pitcher, and in the ninth inning,
Alli Spivey reached on a botched ground ball by the third baseman and scored two plays later when
Alyson Bishoff's single to right got away from Kierra Miles.
The Wildcats' efforts at Texas Tech lifted their season batting average to .268 and lowered its ERA to 3.59. Null dropped her season ERA to 3.02 in pitching her 11th complete game of the spring and is three Ks away from 100.
ACU doesn't have a great history vs. the Bearkats. The Wildcats lost five of six games to Sam Houston State during their first year in the Southland Conference in 2014, and dropped two of three games in Huntsville, Texas last spring. ACU lost the first two games by scores of 5-4 and 5-2 before salvaging the third game, 3-2, in nine innings.
