ABILENE – Abilene Christian's No. 4 to 7 hitters combined for 13 base hits, scored and drove in eight runs during the Wildcats' 14-10 loss to New Orleans Sunday afternoon at Crutcher Scott Field.
The loss dropped ACU's overall and Southland Conference records to 13-5 and 2-4, while the Privateers improved to 9-11 and 2-4 to salvage the series finale. UNO jumped out to an 8-0 lead by the second inning and held a 12-3 lead after four innings before the Wildcats began to claw their way back.
Juniors
Derek Scott's three-run home run in the fifth inning off reliever Kyle Arjona was his third of the season and made it a 12-6 game, and in the seventh he scored on
Robert Salazar's two-out single up the middle that pulled the Wildcats to within five runs at 12-7.
Unfortunately for ACU, the Privateers continued to add to their lead off the Wildcats' bullpen scratching out single runs in the eight and ninth innings. Owen Magee and Beau Bratton hit back-to-back doubles in the eighth off reliever
Ryan Knowles, giving UNO a 13-7 lead, and scored an unearned run in the ninth.
ACU missed out on several big scoring opportunities its half of the eighth as the Wildcats loaded the bases with one out. But
Colton Eager tapped one back to the mound for a force play at the plate for the second out, and then
Dalon Farkas smacked an RBI single to center after hooking two potential run-scoring on the wrong side of the left-field foul line. Scott then followed with a fly ball caught by Pearce Howard along the first-base line in shallow right field.
The Wildcats closed to within four runs of the lead in the ninth on
Riley Donahue's first home run of the season, and got the tying run as far as the on-deck circle with Matthew Muñoz and
Dalton Dunn reaching first and second base with two outs. Closer John Barr then got Eager to ground out back to the mound to complete the three hour and two minute victory.
Colton Brasher started for the Wildcats and was hit hard by UNO over 1.1 innings of work, giving up seven runs on eight hits. Those first four runs all were scored with two outs in the first, and he started the second inning with a walk, double, RBI groundout and triple before being pulled in favor of
Brennan Lewis.
Lewis also lasted just 1.1 innings, surrendering three runs on five hits, including a second inning home run to Cody Ducote and a leadoff triple in the third to Collin Morrill.
Caleb Dougherty made the Wildcats' comeback on offense a bit more realistic as he allowed just two runs (one earned) over 4.1 innings of work with four strikeouts. Doughterty was one batter away from a 1-2-3 fourth inning, but Jacob McFadden reached base on a wild pitch after swinging at strike three and scored two batters later on Jay Robinson's single to left.
After Robinson's hit, however, Dougherty went on to retire the next 10 batters he faced before turning the game over to Knowles to start the eighth. Knowles lasted just three batters, leaving
Jonathan Nicholson to finish the game. Nicholson gave up an unearned run on three hits over the final 1.2 innings.
John Michael Stephens started for UNO and he was chased from the game after the second inning, during which ACU scored three times on four consecutive hits, a wild pitch and an error. Arjona pitched the next 3.0 innings and was credited with the win.
The Privateers finished with 20 base hits. Each member of their lineup recorded at least one hit, while four players tied for the team lead with three.
Wildcats Dunn, Scott, Donahue and Salazar all ripped three base hits, and Farkas went 4-for-5 with two runs and a RBI.
Donahue started all three games of this weekend's series and hit .583 with three runs, three doubles, a home run and three RBI. The team hit .355 as a whole with six starters all hitting better than .300 vs. the Privateers.
The Wildcats return to action Tuesday with a 6:30 p.m. game at UT Arlington.
