DENTON – Junior right fielder
Donelle Johnson doubled home two runs in the third inning and senior pitcher
Hannah Null tossed 4.0 scoreless innings with two strikeouts in leading Abilene Christian softball to a 3-1 win at North Texas.
Null improved to 15-10 on the season after allowing just one hit, and freshman pitcher
Calie Burris (2K) tossed 3.0 innings of relief to earn the first save of her career.
The Wildcats scored all three runs in the third. Designated player
Alyson Bishoff started things off with a hit by pitch and third baseman
Katelyn Belch followed with a walk issued by starter Hope Trautwein.
Donelle Johnson cashed in the baserunners with a one-out double down the left field line to plate both pinch runner
Blakeli Brookreson and Belch.
Because Johnson advanced to third base on the throw home, she easily scored ACU's third and final run on
Braegan Hamilton's ground ball to second base.
The Mean Green regularly place runners on base but didn't score their lone run until the fifth against Burris. The first four batters all reached, which resulted in a base on balls RBI for catcher Nicole Ochotnicki, but soon afterward
Holly Neese caught a line drive to second base, Belch threw out a runner (Katie Clark) at home and Hanna Rebar flew out to Hamilton in center field.
From there, Burris walked one runner in both the sixth and seventh, but escaped each frame with an inning-ending double play. Neese again snared a liner to double Hannah Gerecke off first base to close the sixth, and the game ended on a 6-3 double play turned by
Peyton Hedrick and
Brianna Barnhill.
Hedrick went 1-for-3 and was the last Wildcat to reach base in the fourth as Trautwein retired the final 11 batters she faced. The game only took 97 minutes to complete
ACU returns to Poly Wells Field on Friday and Saturday for the final time this season. Friday's doubleheader is slated to start at 5 p.m. and Saturday's single game will begin at noon weather pending. The Wildcats will honor their seven seniors during Saturday's pregame ceremonies.
