ABILENE -- Abilene Christian baseball has faced the Lone Star State's most renowned Power Five programs -- Baylor, Texas A&M, Texas Tech and TCU -- since its arrival into the D1 ranks back in 2014.
Well ... all except one. But that changes Wednesday night when the six-time College World Series Champion Texas Longhorns (13-3) play host to the Wildcats (7-7) at
UFCU Disch-Falk Field at 6:30 p.m.
The Longhorns are 9-1 at home this season.
"There's a lot of respect between our coaching staffs," said second-year head coach
Rick McCarty about getting this game on ACU's schedule. "We cross the same recruiting platforms all season long. We're on the same fields, watching a lot of the same players. The conversation first came up last summer, and originally we were planning to meet up in the Metroplex (Frisco) but the dates didn't work and now we're heading down there to play, which may be better for us and our younger players for that experience and environment."
Texas has never played ACU in its 126-year history. In fact, the last time the Longhorns played any team from Abilene was all the way back in February 1992, when they beat Hardin-Simmons at home, 15-0, to cap a 36-game series that stretched 72 years. All those games between the Longhorns and Cowboys were played in Austin. The Longhorns have yet to return to the Key City since March 1946, when they swept McMurry in a two-game series.
David Pierce is in his fourth year as the Longhorn's head coach, and he previously faced the Wildcats while with Sam Houston State in 2014. Among Pierce's assistant coaches are five-time MLB All-Star Troy
Tulowitzki and 2005 Rookie of the Year (2x All-Star) Huston Street.
Street is one of seven Longhorns with a retired jersey number, and one of more than 100 who have played in the major leagues.
The memories created and legends who have competed at Disch-Falk Field can certainly stir emotions in any college baseball fan or player.
"If you're someone who grew up in this state, anytime you play a Big 12 opponent there's always going to be a little of that early the first time," said McCarty. "I'd like to think Dallas Baptist was similar, but the more you play these schools, the more comfortable you get and when you beat them you expect to beat them. Then you start to split each year, so now that's the expectation, and that's what we're trying to develop here.
"For some guys it's going to be a little more emotional and bigger in the moment, but the sooner we can settle in the better. That's what we're trying to do for these guys with the challenging schedule."
"Growing up, Texas always was a big program, they won the 2005 College World Series and have always been pretty good." said junior outfielder
Colton Eager. "It's going to be an interesting experience and I'm hoping to see a big turnout and get the win.
"I've been to some pretty big stadiums in my three years," he continued. "We all need to just take it one pitch at a time and not let the moment get too big."
Texas is unranked in spite of its fine record. The Longhorns began their 2020 campaign with a sweeps of Rice and Boise State, but then lost three of four to the likes of LSU, Missouri and Arizona. Texas rebounded last week with a three-game home sweep of Fullerton, where CWS Hall of Fame head coach
Augie Garrido coached twice (1973-87 and 1991-96) before leading the Longhorns to their two most recent national championships in 2002 and 2005.
Wildcat baseball enters this week with a 7-7 record after starting Southland Conference play last weekend with a 2-1 series loss at Northwestern State. Highlights included Hayden
Clearman hitting .375 vs. the Demons while reaching base eight times,
Colton Eager cracking his first career home run, and pitchers
Austin Glaze,
Tanner Riley and Spencer
Chirpich combining for 10K in the Wildcats' 8-2 victory.
"We're definitely capable of playing better baseball," said Eager. "We need to cleanup the errors and just have a little more situational hitting. We've been hitting some barrels right at people, but moving forward I think those hits are going to start falling in."
