ABILENE -- Northwestern State scored three runs in the third inning and tacked on three big runs in the seventh inning Sunday afternoon as the Demons knocked off ACU, 6-3, to win their Southland Conference baseball series at Crutcher Scott Field.
Northwestern State won the first game of the set, 10-3, Friday night, before ACU came back Saturday night with a 9-4 win to set up Sunday's rubber match. The Demons scored three runs (two unearned) in the third inning off ACU starter
Derek Scott to take an early lead.
But in the bottom of the third, senior second baseman
Russell Crippen hit a home run in his third straight game, a two-run blast to left field to cut Northwestern State's lead to 3-2. For Crippen, the home run was the 10th of his season to establish a new career high.
Scott settled in after the rough third inning and finished the game by hurling six innings and giving up just seven hits and two walks while striking out six batters.
But Northwestern State got three more runs in the top of the seventh off reliever
Caleb Dougherty, who lasted just one-third of an inning.
David Ruot and
Jonah Smith finished the game with 2 2/3 innings of two-hit relief, but the ACU offense never could muster up much of a threat against Northwestern State pitcher Cullen McDonald, who went the distance to improve his record to 2-2.
McDonald limited one of the best offenses in the conference to just five hits and three runs in the contest to record the complete game.
ACU's final eight games of the season are all on the road, starting with Tuesday night's game at Dallas B aptist. ACU will play at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (May 18-20) before going to Corvallis, Ore., to take on No. 1 Oregon State, May 25-28.
