ABILENE, Texas—ACU heads on the road once again this weekend as they take on Baylor in a stand-alone contest before heading to Denton to participate in the North Texas Invitational. After facing Baylor for four-straight seasons, 2015-18, the teams did not meet in 2019. The Wildcats got the Lady Bears back on the schedule for 2020 and will play a single game at 5 p.m. on Thursday night. The team will then travel to Denton where they will play four games over three days.
North Texas Invitational Schedule
2/14 vs Missouri State 4:30 p.m.
2/15 vs Creighton 13:30 p.m.
2/15 at North Texas 3 p.m.
2/16 vs UT Martin 10 a.m.
Weather Delay
ACU and Baylor were originally scheduled to play on Tuesday but were forced to push the game date back due to weather. The teams have met six times since ACU moved to DI and the Lady Bears have come away with a win in all six of those contests.
Tournament Time
The Wildcats will participate in the second of four preseason tournaments this weekend in Denton. The team began the season 1-3 at the Aggie Classic but had many highlight moments on the weekend that point to an exciting season ahead. After the North Texas Invitational, the Wildcats will participate in the Mardi Gras Mambo hosted by SLU and the Courtyard Marriott Tournament hosted by Oklahoma.
ACU Storylines
The Wildcats played well in their first weekend of competition despite missing four or five starters on the weekend. Four starters were unavailable opening weekend while one of their starters suffered a concussion in the second game of the weekend. ACU will have a tough slate ahead of them as they play five games over the next four days.
Sophomore transfer,
Alivia Sinnott, had a solid opening weekend for the Wildcats going 1-1, including a complete game win over UT Arlington. It was both the first win and complete game of her career.
Blair Clayton exploded offensively last weekend, driving in the lone run in the team's first game against the Aggies before blasting two homeruns in the rematch the following day. Clayton totaled six RBIs on the weekend while leading the team with a .385 hitting percentage.
The competition
The Wildcats will get another taste of Power 5 competition this weekend in their lone game against
Baylor. The Wildcats are 0-6 all-time against the Lady Bears but proved they have potential to hang with top teams when they put up six runs against Texas A&M last weekend.
The UNT tournament provides solid competition from across the country as the Wildcats will face not only the Mean Green, but Creighton, Missouri State, and UT Martin as well.
Missouri State opened their 2020 schedule at the NFCA Lead Off Classic where they went 1-4 against top-tier competition. The Bears played five Power 5 schools, earning a win over Baylor while keeping pace with No. 8 Minnesota, losing just 1-0.
The
Creighton Bluejays started their season with a 3-2 record at the H-E-B Classic hosted by UIW. The Bluejays have no shortage of offensive power as they put up 24 runs in five innings against Toledo last weekend. Other than the Toledo win, they also earned wins over UIW and North Dakota.
North Texas began their season with a 4-1 start playing games at both McNesse and Louisiana. UNT went 2-1 in games at McNeese, falling to the Cowgirls 7-0 in their first meeting. At Louisiana, the Mean Green won 15-4 over Arkansas-Pine Bluff before taking a 2-1 win over the 10
th-ranked Ragin' Cajuns.
UT Martin opened their 2020 campaign with a 3-2 record at the Lion Classic hosted by SLU. The team has a 3-2 record on the season with wins over Alabama State and Grambling State. The Skyhawks fell to Southeastern Louisiana 6-5 in extra innings.
How to follow along
Live stats for the weekend will be available through MeanGreenStats.com. Check back on the website for any updates on the schedule.
