Box Score ABILENE – Michigan State capitalized on five ACU errors, including three in a five-run sixth inning, and rolled to a 9-2 win in the season-opener for both teams Friday afternoon at Crutcher Scott Field.
ACU (0-1) got the scoring started with a single run in the second before Michigan State tied the game with a run in the top of the fifth. But the wheels fell off for the Wildcats in the sixth when they committed three errors and relief pitcher
Keaton Brewer gave up three hits, all of which led to five runs for the Spartans (1-0).
MSU – which won 36 games last season and reached the Big Ten Tournament – was led by the duo of Dan Durkin and Kory Young, who each drove in two runs in the game.
KEY INNING
In the top of the sixth with the score tied 1-1, Zack McGuire led off the inning with a single to center before Danny Gleaves dropped down what appeared to be a sacrifice bunt. But the Wildcats were slow to react to the bunt and both runners were safe. After a sacrifice bunt by Dan Chmielewski moved runners to second and third, Young walked to load the bases.
Leaadoff hitter Brandon Hughes then lifted a fly ball to center field that should have resulted in, at worst, a sacrifice fly and a 2-1 MSU lead. But
Hunter Markwardt dropped the ball, McGuire scored and the bases remained loaded with nobody out. Durkin then singled to right field to drive in a pair of runs for a 4-1 Spartan lead. Two more runs scored later in the inning on a throwing error by
Mark Pearson on what should have been the third out of the inning.
ON THE MOUND
ACU starting pitcher
Austin Lambright was terrific in his return from arm surgery that cost him the entire 2016 season. The Wildcats' starting pitcher went four innings and allowed just two hits, three walks and no runs while striking out nine Spartans. Lambright exited after four innings because he had thrown 83 pitches.
The Wildcat pitching staff allowed just five earned runs in the game and struck out 15 Spartans, tying the program record for most strikeouts of an opponent since ACU began its transition from NCAA Division II to NCAA Division I affiliation. The record was originally set against Texas Tech on March 3, 2015, and then tied against Dallas Baptist on March 24, 2015.
AT THE PLATE
ACU senior rightfielder
Russell Crippen and senior third baseman
Aaron Draper had the two ACU RBIs in the game. Draper had an RBI single to center field in the bottom of the second inning to drive in
Hunter Hays and give the Wildcats a 1-0 lead. Crippen singled to right field in the bottom of the sixth to drive in catcher
Luis Trevino to cut the Spartans' lead to 6-2.
NOTABLE
• Draper's single in the second inning gives him 167 career hits, leaving him 33 short of 200 and 10
th place in ACU program history.
• Freshman righthander
Ryan Kotulek from Shallowater made his ACU debut by pitching a scoreless seventh inning and striking out one Spartan.
• Michigan State's appearance in Abilene this weekend marks the first time that a team from the Big Ten Conference has been in Abilene to compete against ACU in any sport since Michigan and Ohio State joined Texas and ACU in a quadrangular track and field meet at Elmer Gray Stadium in 1960.
NEXT GAME
The Wildcats and Spartans will be back in action Saturday with a doubleheader at Crutcher Scott Field. Game 1 will get started at 1 p.m. with the second game set to start 30 minutes after the completion of the first game. Both games will be broadcast on 98.1 FM The Ticket.
