ABILENE – The ACU softball team (4-9) will look to snap its three-game skid as they open the home slate in 2019 at Poly Wells Field. The Kangaroos of UMKC (11-4) and the Maine Black Bears (1-4) come to town for the Wildcat Invite, encompassing six games on Friday and Saturday, March 1-2. The teams will play round robins both days, with games getting started at 1:30 p.m. Friday and 12 p.m. Saturday.
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TOURNAMENT INFO… The tournament takes place on campus, with UMKC and Maine opening up against one another at 1:30 p.m. Friday. ACU will play both schools in back-to-back time slots at 4 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. to close out day one. The 'Roos and Black Bears meet again Saturday at 12 p.m., with the Wildcats taking on both teams at 2:30 p.m. and 5 p.m. to close the tournament.
WATCH… ACU's Friday matchups against Maine and UMKC will be the only games streamed online. However, all five six do have a live stat option.
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PEAK IN THE REAR-VIEW MIRROR… The Wildcats took the opening game of the Maverick Invite last weekend in Arlington over Prairie View A&M, but fell victim to the Wichita State Shockers twice and the hosts from UTA to close the tournament. ACU scored nine runs on 14 hits in a five-inning, run-rule win over the Jaguars, but scored just four times the rest of the weekend on 13 total hits. Sophomore
Calie Burris led the team with a .429 average (3-7) with a pair of doubles, while
Kayla Keeling's 4-13 (.308) weekend included the team's lone homer of the four games. Burris went 1-0 in the circle, pitching the complete-game shutout over Prairie View A&M.
TEAM LEADERS… Through 13 games this season, Clayton leads ACU at the plate this season with a .333 average and a .606 slugging percentage. Clayton, Keeling, and
Samantha Bradley's eight RBI lead the squad as well. Keeling's 12 hits are a team-high, while
Katelyn Belch's perfect 6-6 start on the base paths leads the team. Burris headlines the pitching staff with a 3.80 earned run average, and is 2-1 in 21.1 innings of work. Bradley's 44.2 innings lead the staff, while
Jillian Hefner's six games started leads the three.
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