LAKE CHARLES, La. – Junior
Garrett Hutson improved to 3-0 on the season following Abilene Christian's 9-3 win over McNeese Saturday at Joe Miller Ballpark in which he struck out nine batters in 7.0 innings. Hutson's offense spotted him a 3-1 lead in the fifth and put the game on ice with six runs over the final three frames as the Wildcats lifted their overall and Southland records to 15-14 and 3-11, while the Cowboys slipped to 12-19 and 8-6.
Hutson scattered seven hits over his 124-pitch outing but minimized any further damage by issuing just one walk. The Cowboys took a 1-0 lead in the second on a two-out RBI single from designated hitter Andre Bryan, from there, however, Hutson retired nine of the next 10 batters he faced through the fifth inning.
McNeese put itself in position to tie the game in the sixth inning with runners in scoring position and two outs, but Hutson whiffed second baseman Joe Provenzano to squash the threat. Then in the seventh, after the Cowboys had cut their deficit to two runs at 5-3, the El Dorado, Kan., native got Reid Bourque looking at a called strike three with a runner at third base.
Reliever
Brennan Lewis once again was stellar in relief. He came on to start the eighth and retired the Cowboys' No. 3, 4 and 5 in order, and then settled matters in the ninth with a strikeout and game-ending 5-4-3 double play.
ACU's offense was limited to three singles by starter Bryan King (2-2) through the first four innings, but junior shortstop
Robert Salazar got things rolling in the fifth with a leadoff double that was followed by
Seth Watts' bunt single and a RBI fielder's choice off the bat of Matt Muñoz, which was accompanied by Provenzano's error at second base.
That miscue allowed Watts to score the go-ahead run on
Zach Smith's RBI ground ball and Muñoz to score a batter later on Zach Mausser's fly ball to left field.
Mausser finished the game 2-for-3 with three RBI, driving in Muñoz twice more on a single up the middle in the seventh and an eighth-inning poke through the left side. Muñoz' third run of the day gave the Wildcats a 7-3 lead, and it's worth noting the bottom half of the Wildcats' lineup (No. 5-9 batters) combined for 10 base hits, eight runs and seven RBI.
ACU added two more runs in the ninth vs. reliever Peyton McLemore with Salazar providing an RBI single and coming home on Muñoz' fourth base hit.
Of ACU's 15 base hits, only three were for extra bases as
Derek Scott (2-for-4),
Dalon Farkas (1-for-5) and Salazar (2-for-5, 2 runs) all doubled. This trio has combined for 32 doubles this spring.
The Cowboys and Wildcats conclude their three-game series Sunday at 1 p.m.
