ABILENE – Sophomore infielders
Peyton Hedrick and
Holly Neese combined for three home runs and eight RBI, and
Hannah Null allowed just one run through 10.1 innings pitched in leading Abilene Christian softball to a doubleheader sweep of Houston Baptist Friday evening at Poly Wells Field.
Today's games were as different as night and day. The Wildcats won game one in an efficient, well-played manner, 4-1, and in game two, they capitalized on a series of Husky mistakes to win 14-8.
The victories clinched a winning season for ACU at 24-21 and gave the Wildcats their seventh Southland Conference series victory of the spring. With a league record of 18-8, ACU currently sits in third place, one half game ahead of Lamar (17-8), and 1.5 games up on Central Arkansas (16-9). The Cardinals play twice Saturday vs. second-place Nicholls, while the Bears wrap their three-game set with a doubleheader vs. first-place McNeese.
The Wildcats and Huskies conclude their three-game series Saturday at 11 a.m., prior to which
Demi McNulty,
Cara Hoover and
Julia Montoya will be honored during a Senior Day recognition ceremony.
Game one between ACU and HBU today lasted all of 75 minutes as the two teams combined for just eight hits with no errors, and had all their scoring done by the fourth inning.
Laci Belovsky started for HBU and if not for several illegal pitch calls, likely would have escaped the first inning unscathed. However, one balk led to a
Taylor Brown run and advanced
Demi McNulty to third, who scored three batters later on a
Brianna Barnhill fly ball to right field.
The Wildcats tacked on two more runs in the second as both Brown and McNulty delivered run-scoring hits. Brown doubled home
Casey-May Huff with a two-out double to left and McNulty followed with a RBI single up the middle.
Afterward reliever Shannon O'Connor shut down ACU's offense in allowing just three base runners over the final 4.0 innings on one hit and two walks.
But by the time O'Connor entered the game, Null had all the run support she needed as she struck out five in her complete-game effort. Consecutive hits by Libby Brown and Demi Janak spoiled her bid for a shutout in the fourth, but she prevented any further damage by getting a fly ball to left and ground ball to shortstop.
Null allowed one more hit to start the fifth inning – an infield single – before retiring the final nine batters she faced, the last two of which were by strikeout.
Game two proved to be game one's opposite in that it was a match that started as a see-saw battle that then quickly morphed into a blowout victory for the Wildcats.
Hedrick hit the first of her two home runs in the first inning, putting ACU ahead 3-0, but that lead didn't last long as the Huskies ripped three extra-base hits in the second, the last of which was a three-run homer by catcher Caitlin Gunn that gave HBU its first lead of the day at 4-3.
In the third, Neese hit her eighth home run of the year to bring the lead back to ACU at 5-4, however, the Huskies stormed right back in their half of the fourth on a series of infield singles that led to four runs. HBU came close to batting around that inning if not for Null's strikeout of Brown to end the frame with a runner at first base.
ACU then put together one of its craziest offensive innings since moving into DI Athletics as a combination of four hits, three pitchers, two errors and a handful more mental mistakes led to eight runs.
The Wildcats sent 12 batters to the plate, beginning with designated player
Kaleigh Singleton who innocently started the fourth with a single to left field. An
Alli Spivey high chopper to the circle followed and even though O'Connor successfully gloved the ball over her head, her throw to second was not in time to catch Singleton.
Brown drew a walk to load the bases and McNulty grounded one back to O'Connor, who again had plenty of time to catch Singleton at the plate. Instead her throw was off target, hit the end of catchers' mitt and rolled toward the first-base press box, allowing two runs to score.
With the tying-run now at third base, Hedrick grounded the ball to shortstop Savan Guidry, who opted to come home instead of going for the out at first. Guidry made a good throw, but it appeared Gunn lost the ball in the setting sun as it sailed off to her right.
Neese put the Wildcats ahead for good with a single to left that plated both McNulty and Hedrick. The next two ACU batters – Hoover and Barnhill – then hit back-to-back singles and
Baylee Travers drew a walk.
The Huskies finally recorded their first out of the inning after Singleton – in her second at-bat of the inning – grounded into a 5-2 fielder's choice. Singleton later was thrown out at third base after another run had scored for out No. 2, and McNulty brought the inning to a close with a ground ball to second base.
Hedrick drove in ACU's 14th and final run on a solo shot to left-center field, which was her 12th of the season. Null, meanwhile, continued to tame the Huskies in allowing just one hit through 3.1 innings of relief.
Null is now 15-11 on the season.
