SAN ANTONIO – One strike. One final strike is all the Wildcats needed Saturday to even their weekend series vs. Incarnate Word at a game apiece. But an innocuous two-out, two-strike single soon beget a game-tying RBI double, which beget a walkoff single off the bat of Ryan Gonzalez, sending the Cardinals to an euphoric 8-7 victory over Abilene Christian at Sullivan Field.
The Wildcats (10-3, 0-2 Southland) now look to salvage the final game of their series Sunday at 1 p.m.
Yes, Gonzalez goes down in the history books as the hero, surely as reliever Jonathan Nicholoson is tattooed with the 'L', but in a 3 hour and 35 minute-game that featured six lead changes, six errors and 10 pitchers, today's decision – good or bad – was a complete team effort. Gonzalez doesn't get that opportunity if not for two prior UIW rallies, and Nicholson shined for the better part of 4.0 innings of long relief before giving up a couple of unlucky base knocks in the ninth.
The Cardinals trailed by as many as four runs early on and had just cut their deficit to 5-4 when Nicholson was brought in from the bullpen. The Abilene native gave up a game-tying single to the first batter he faced (David Anaya), but battled back to strike out Gonzalez and got left fielder Eddie Gonzalez to fly out to left field.
UIW then scratched out an unearned run in the sixth to tie the score once more at 6-6, but Nicholson looked pretty solid in the seventh and eighth, picking up a pair of strikeouts while leaving two runners in scoring position. He even started well in the ninth, getting a fly ball to right followed by his fourth and final strikeout vs. Kyle Bergeron before the Cardinals' late-inning hit parade doomed his team's shot at the 'W.'
ACU's offense was by and large great today, ripping 11 base hits – three of which cleared the outfield wall. Left fielder
Derek Scott went yard in the third and sixth innings for his first two round-trippers of the year, and to begin the eighth, right fielder
Caleb Kyle hit his second of the year off reliever John Shull that gave ACU a 7-6 lead.
The Wildcats soon loaded the bases later that inning on two walks and a strikeout / wild pitch but came away empty in their chance to add any insurance runs. Overall, ACU left a dozen men left on base, half of which came between seventh and eighth innings.
Brock Barger started for ACU and lasted 3.2 innings, giving up four runs on five hits. He was lifted after 68 pitches in favor of
Garrett Hutson, who surrendered one run on two hits and a walk in 0.2 innings of work. Nicholson relieved Hutson in the fifth, and
Ryan Knowles came in for Nicholson following the game-tying double by Anaya.
Cody Allen scored the win for UIW in relief. He left the bases juiced in the eighth and stranded a runner at first base in the ninth for his second victory of the spring.
