MADEIRA BEACH, Fla. – Senior
Hannah Null tossed 8.2 scoreless innings and collected 13 strikeouts to win both games of Friday's doubleheader vs. UMKC and Jacksonville State. She entered game one as a reliever to beat the Kangaroos, 7-6, and later tossed a two-hit shutout of the Gamecocks.
The Wildcats' offense batted .385 between the two games with only two extra-bases hits: a double by
Peyton Hedrick and a three-run home run by
Brianna Barnhill that both came during ACU's 8-0 win over Jacksonville State.
ACU returns to action tomorrow against Monmouth and Georgia Southern at 4 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. ET.
Game 1 – Abilene Christian 7, UMKC 6
The Wildcats began their day with a comeback victory over UMKC, which featured six lead changes and five pitchers between the teams
ACU trailed at three different times but finally took the lead for good during the top of the fifth. The Wildcats loaded the bases with one out as catcher
Kayla Keeling's leadoff walk was followed by an infield single by
Tori Poullard and hit to shallow center field by pinch hitter
Alyson Bishoff.
Keeling scored when a pitch hit
Briana Tijerina, and Poullard plated the game-tying run when
Braegan Hamilton reached safely on shortstop Morgan Byrn's error. 'Roos relief pitcher Sara Miller then coughed up the lead after hitting shortstop
Peyton Hedrick.
Miller was lifted from the game in favor of Olivia Fluehr after plunking Hedrick, and from there the game became an abbreviated pitchers' duel with
Hannah Null on the opposing side.
Null entered in the fourth to help contain a UMKC offense that already scored six runs on eight hits off
Calie Burris through 3.1 innings. But matters didn't improve right away as a passed ball on a swinging strikeout by Tiler Noyota allowed the 'Roos to score their second run of the frame, and two batters later UMKC took a 6-4 lead on Kelsey Goodwin's RBI single to center.
But after ACU regained the lead, Null came close to being unhittable over the final 3.0 innings. She worked out of a two-on, no-out jam in the fifth with a strikeout, pop up and fly out, and in the sixth she left a runner stranded a first base with a punch out of Goodwin and infield fly off the bat of Bryn.
Null finished the game with a strikeout of Fluehr to complete a 1-2-3 seventh inning.
UMKC scored one run in the first inning but the Wildcats responded with two in the second inning off a trio of singles and pair of walks. Tijerina's RBI single briefly tied the score at 1-1 as Hamilton followed with a bases-loaded walk.
The Roos' put two more runs on the board in their half of the second, scoring once on a wild pitch and another on a RBI single by Fluehr. The score remained 3-2 in UMKC's favor until the fourth where Poullard and
Caroline Adair scored on Hamilton's RBI single to right field.
ACU's No. 6 to 9 batters collected eight of the team's 10 base hits with Keeling, Donnelle Johnson and Poullard each recording two. Poullard also scored three times.
Game 2 – Abilene Christian 9, Jacksonville State 0
Senior
Brianna Barnhill smashed her third home run of the season in the third inning of the Wildcats' 8-0 win over Jacksonville State.
Hannah Null got the start after tossing just 55 pitches in the relief win vs. UMKC, and only needed 5.0 innings with eight strikeouts to grab her third win of the season (3-2).
Prior to Barnhill's round-tripper, ACU got an early lead that started with back-to-back singles in the second.
Holly Neese led off the frame with a single to center and scored three batters later on
Donelle Johnson's sacrifice fly to left field, and
Kayla Keeling scored on
Caroline Adair's infield RBI single.
The Wildcats picked up their final three runs in the fourth on four consecutive base hits, a walk and hit-by-pitch. No. 8-1 hitters
Katelyn Belch, Adair and
Briana Tijerina all singled, and then Hamilton ripped a two-run base hit to right field that made it an 8-0 game.
Null entered the fifth having retired 11 consecutive batter since the first inning, but gave up a two-out double to Anna Snider after getting a strikeout and fly ball to center. But the next batter, Anna Chisolm, flew out to center to end the game.
The only other hit allowed by Null was a leadoff infield single to second base by Hannahstaysia Weaver, who was caught stealing third base by Keeling (C) and Belch (3B).
