ABILENE – Abilene Christian softball will pay tribute to the man head coach
Bobby Reeves considered to be the program's No. 1 fan with a tree dedication between Friday's games against Central Arkansas. The doubleheader between Wildcats and Bears begins at 5 p.m., and the ceremony will take place on the south lawn of Poly Wells Field.
Prior to his tragic passing in December of last year, Keith Hoover was a constant presence at all ACU softball games – both home and road – cheering on daughter, Cara, and the Wildcats from 2013-16 as they began their climb into NCAA DI athletics. Keith and his wife Carol were an integral part of the team's family in the stands, and during their daughter's final game last May they watched her go 3-for-4 with a home run and four RBI vs. Houston Baptist.
Cara earned her bachelor's degree from ACU in exercise science and nutrition that same weekend. She would continue to reside in Abilene and last summer she joined Reeves' coaching staff in a volunteer capacity.
Like most relationships, the bond between the Hoover and ACU Softball families began with a chance encounter. One that took place in Plano not long after Reeves was named head coach prior to the 2011 season.
"I'm out at one of these huge softball complexes," recalled Reeves, "and as I'm walking around decked out in all my Wildcat gear he (Keith) passes by me and says, 'hey if you're in need of a catcher, there's a great one over there on field No. 2' – and that ended up being Cara.
"From day one Keith was always asking, 'What do you need?' … He was always looking to give back to the Wildcats," continued Reeves, "and that's why I'll always consider him to be our No. 1 fan. He was such a generous, giving individual and it's hard to put into words how much he meant to this program. I loved seeing Keith and Carol at our games, and getting together with everyone at their place in Azle."
Hoover's tree is planted outside Reeves' office window and the plaque at the base of the live oak includes Psalm 118:24 – "This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it." All who are in attendance that evening are encouraged to join in the dedication.
The Wildcats (28-18, 16-5) dropped two of three last weekend in a close series at Sam Houston State, but remain only 2.0 games back of Southland Conference leader McNeese (18-3) with six games left in the regular season. ACU won game one 3-0 vs. the Bearkats, but had a seventh-inning rally cut short in a 3-2 defeat and lost 4-2 in Saturday's finale.
Central Arkansas comes to Abilene with overall and conference records of 19-30 and 10-11 after sweeping a three-game series from Southeastern Louisiana.
Junior shortstop
Peyton Hedrick continues to lead the Wildcats and Southland Conference in most offensive categories as she enters this series hitting .389 with a league best 14 home runs and 48 RBI. Her most recent home run – hit last Friday at Sam Houston State – was the 38th of her career, tying Katie Bryan's varsity record.
ACU continued to receive quality starts from the circle last weekend despite dropping a Southland series for only the second time all spring. Freshman
Sidney Holman went 1-1 vs. the Bearkats, but still owns a 1.82 ERA to go along with 143 strikeouts and a league-best 18 wins.
Redshirt junior
Hannah Null also is ranked among the league's leaders with 10 wins, 113 Ks and a .219 opposing batting average.
All three of this weekend's games will be live streamed on
ACUSports.com with
Mary Kate Rotenberry handling the play-by-play. There also will be live stats via the
ACU Wildcats app.
