ABILENE – With a southwesterly breeze blowing into Poly Wells Field Sunday at 22 miles per hour, Northern Colorado starter Jayme Reddacliffe kept the ball low and got the Wildcats to ground out 15 times during the Bears' 5-3 win over Abilene Christian softball.
The Bears' victory was their fourth of the season (4-11) and first of the weekend against ACU (7-9), which beat them Friday and Saturday by scores of 5-2 and 6-0.
Reddacliffe allowed just two base hits and one fly ball through the first 3.0 innings before getting into a small bit of trouble in the fourth. After striking out ACU shortstop
Peyton Hedrick to begin the frame, she allowed a single up the middle to
Holly Neese followed by a right-center gapper by
Casey-May Huff, who was thrown out at second base trying to stretch her single into a double. Lucky for the Wildcats, however, that Neese scored right before shortstop Emily Dick applied the tag to Huff.
The Wildcats' lead did not last long as the Bears, who threatened to score several times earlier in the game, began their fifth with back-to-back singles that drove ACU starter
Hannah Null from the contest. Dick's RBI single off Null tied the game at 1-1, and two batters later the Bears' Rachel Johnson cracked a two-run shot off Wildcat reliever
Sidney Holman. Jordyn Wiatrak then followed with a round-tripper to straightaway center field to give her side a 4-1 lead.
ACU climbed back into the game on Hedrick's third home run of the spring – a two-run shot off the scoreboard – but Reddacliffe got the next three Wildcats to all ground out. And in the seventh, she survived a leadoff double by pinch hitter
Nicole Matise, by retiring
Tori Poullard (K),
Brianna Barnhill (F9) and
Taylor Brown (6-3) in order.
The Wildcats continue their tournament season next weekend in Stillwater, Okla., for the Mizuno Classic. ACU will face the host Cowgirls in addition to teams from Tennessee Tech and Northern Iowa during their three-day stay.
