ABILENE – Four Wildcat pitchers combined on a one-hitter of Texas Permian Basin Tuesday night at Crutcher Scott Field, which lifted Abilene Christian's season record to 6-1.
Abilene native
Derek Scott punched out six batters through 4.0 innings during his season debut on the mound. Senior
Caleb Dougherty (2-1) followed with 3.0 scoreless frames and four Ks in picking up his second victory of the spring, while relievers
Brennan Lewis and
Ryan Knowles each faced the minimum three batters in the eighth and ninth.
All of tonight's scoring occurred between the third and fourth innings.
Permian Basin (2-8) took a 2-0 lead in the third on one hit and two errors, but the Falcons' advantage did not last long as the Wildcats countered with their first of two consecutive four-run innings.
Freshman right fielder
Colton Eager tied the score at 2-2 with a RBI single through the right side that plated junior left fielder
Caleb Kyle (2-4, 2 runs, 2 rbi), and after junior second baseman
Dalton Dunn was hit by a Cale Thornton pitch, junior third baseman
Nolan Ritchie ripped a two-run single down the left-field line that made it a 4-2 game.
ACU's fourth inning started with sophomore catcher
Lane Bourland scoring on junior center fielder Matt Muñoz RBI triple to the left-center gap, and then Muñoz came hom on Kyle's second hit of the evening. Dunn then drove in the game's final two runs on a single.
Kyle, Dunn and Ritchie all finished with two RBI, and Muñoz' triple was his second of the season. The Euless native additionally made a tremendous sliding catch on the center field logo to steal a base hit and RBI from pinch hitter Alexander Wixson in the sixth.
The Wildcats return to action Friday at 6 p.m. for the start of a three-game home series vs. Mississippi Valley State.
