EL PASO, Texas—ACU ran it back on day two of the Miner Invitational facing Oklahoma and UTEP once again to close out the tournament. The Wildcats would have Oklahoma up first on Friday morning and the game was all Sooners as they came away with an 11-0 win. The tough loss did not phase ACU as they went to work immediately against UTEP. The team put up five runs in the second inning against the Miners, scoring on a wild pitch and a grand slam from
Calie Burris. The team put up another run in the sixth inning and came away with a 6-0 win.
Game 1
Oklahoma pitching was dominant again on Friday as they held ACU scoreless for the second time and allowed just one hit on the day. The Wildcats gave up just one run in the first inning, but the Sooners put together back-to-back four run innings in the second and third to break open the game. Sam Bradley made a relief appearance in the circle and held Oklahoma scoreless in the fourth before giving up two runs in the fifth.
Game 2
Riley White made her second pitching start of the weekend and came away with the complete game shutout for the first win of her young career. The Wildcats busted out a five-run second inning behind a grand slam from
Calie Burris and scored again in the sixth inning on an RBI double from
Shaylee Alani.
Stat pack
- Burris' homerun against UTEP was the third of her career and her first career grand slam. It was her first home run since the UIW series in 2019.
- Avery Miloch went 2-5 on the day and hit .500 on the weekend in her college debut.
- White lead the Wildcats with 11 innings pitched on the weekend and was the only ACU pitcher to throw a complete game on the weekend.
- Lacy Johnson did not have a hit on Saturday but drew two walks and scored two runs in the UTEP game.
Farler Figures
On playing a high-level of competition early: "I think facing OU twice this early really helps set us up for success in the long run. Our hitters saw some great pitching; excellent movement and velocity and they battled. Our pitchers had to navigate a very powerful lineup and figure out how to use their tools to keep them off balance. Defense was able to work some different shifts and plays. If we want to elevate our game we will have to learn how to step up and compete with every opportunity. We saw areas of the game where we misstepped and gave OU some extra runs."
On the teams ability to bounce back against UTEP: "This team is committed to being the best at handling adversity. They were able to take coaching from game one and separate that game from the next one. They knew they needed to bounce back and compete and that's exactly what they did. The girls were able to put pressure on offensively right away against UTEP."
On young players stepping up early: "It is HUGE for us to be able to call on anyone on our roster and expect them to step up at any point. Riley is going to be a fun kid to watch, she really threw well all weekend and kept hitters off balance. Having her bat is an added bonus for us. Avery really stepped up in a big way. She took coaching from coaches and teammates and went to work. I am really proud of the composure and competitiveness we saw out of both of these freshmen all weekend. They sure didn't look like freshmen from the outside."
Up next
The Wildcats will have a week to prepare for their next tournament when they travel to UT Arlington next weekend. The team will be back in action on Feb. 19 at 12:30 p.m. against Wichita State and then a 5:30 p.m. game against host, UT Arlington.
