HUNTSVILLE, Texas – Abilene Christian junior
Peyton Hedrick tied Katie Bryan's 12-year-old school home run record Friday during a 4-for-6 doubleheader against Sam Houston State (19-22, 10-10 Southland) in which the Wildcats (28-17, 16-4 Southland) followed a 3-0 win with a disheartening 3-2 defeat.
Bryan clubbed 38 home runs during her four-year Wildcat career from 2002 to 2005, and still holds the school records for most hits (227), RBI (171) and total bases (397). However, it's expected that Hedrick, a native of Forney, Texas, may eclipse all of Bryan's records by the time the shortstop completes her decorated career in 2018 as she already has accumulated 175 hits, 129 RBI and 346 total bases in just under three seasons.
Hedrick – who is hitting .414 and slugging .843 through 20 Southland contests – hit her conference leading 14th home run in the third inning of game one to give the Wildcats a 2-0 lead. Her 14 round-trippers are the most by any Wildcat since current assistant coach Lyndi (Smith) Felan hit 13 during her senior year of 2014. Hedrick also doubled in the first inning and led off the fifth with her second two-bagger before coming home on a
Holly Neese sacrifice fly ball to left field that made it a 3-0 game for freshman starter
Sidney Holman.
The Wildcats also scored an unearned run in the second inning when a shortstop's error was followed by
Kaleigh Singleton's two-out RBI single to right field that plated third baseman
Casey-May Huff.
That one run would be enough for Holman as the rookie from Belton struck out five for her sixth shutout of the season. She allowed three singles and scattered three walks, and never once did a Bearkat runner make it past second base.
Holman's victory was her 18th overall and lifted her Southland Conference record to a near-perfect 11-1. The shutout additionally lowered her ERA to 1.75 (1.09 vs. the Southland).
ACU recorded two walkoff victories last season at home vs. the Bearkats, and in game two today, it appeared the Wildcats were ready to execute some more late-inning magic until a disputed call at the plate spoiled their rally.
The Wildcats trailed all game and were down 3-0 going into the seventh thanks to a two-run home run in the first inning by Tiffany Thompson and third-inning RBI single off the bat of Tori Koerselman with two outs. After the Koerselman hit, however, starting pitcher
Hannah Null allowed just two more base runners with striking out four along the way to help keep the Wildcats in the game.
Unfortunately, for Null she was topped most of the afternoon by Lindsey McLeod who only allowed two hits and one walk through the first 6.0 innings while striking out seven batters. And both of those hits came with two outs in the third inning.
Then, it seemed, the Wildcats finally solved McLeod in the seventh as Neese led off with a single and
Brianna Barnhill followed with a walk. Then with one out, Neese's pinch runner
Mackenzie Thornton scored on an infield single to second base, and Singleton followed with a hit up the middle off reliever Tayler Atkinson that cut the Bearkats lead to 3-2.
With two runners in scoring position and one out, McLeod returned to the circle to face
Alli Spivey who delivered what was thought by the Wildcat bench to be the game-tying base hit. But the umpire signaled that she stepped on home plate while making contact and was ruled out. The coaching staff protested the play to no avail and McLeod got
Taylor Brown to end the game with a fly ball to center, snapping the Wildcats' winning streak at six games.
The Wildcats and Bearkats conclude their series Saturday at 3 p.m.
