CONWAY, Ark. - Abilene Christian baseball Saturday split a doubleheader with Central Arkansas at Bear Stadium.
The Wildcats won the first game, 5-4, but dropped the nightcap, 6-3, in falling to 10-4 (2-1 Southland) on the season. UCA enters Sunday's noontime series finale at 4-6 (1-2 SLC).
Game One Recap
Second baseman
Brett Hammit and center fielder
Grayson Tatrow each homered in the Wildcats' 5-4 victory.
Tatrow hit his second long ball of the season - a solo shot - over the wall in left center in the first inning to give ACU a 1-0 lead. Hammit followed with a two-run shot with two outs in the second, pushing the Wildcat lead to 3-0.
ACU added two insurance runs in the fourth that proved to be the difference. First baseman
Hunter Gieser doubled home designated hitter
Tommy Cruz, and scored two batters later on a RBI single by Sebastian "Bash" Randle.
Genner Cervantes started and improved to 2-0 after striking out two in 5.2 innings. He surrendered one run in the first but went on to retire 14 of the next 16 batters through the fifth inning.
UCA reached Cervantes for three runs on four hits in the sixth, but
Max Huffling came in to strike out Christian Brasher with two outs and a runner at second base.
Huffling (3K) later pitched a scoreless seventh in earning his first save of 2021.
Game Two Recap
Hammit again came up with a run-scoring hit, this time a one-out, two-run double in the seventh, but the Wildcats would only get one more hit afterward as Central Arkansas doubled up the Wildcats, 6-3.
UCA scored all its runs through the first five innings off starter
Adam Stephenson. The Bears scored single runs in the first and fifth and two in the second and fourth. Two of the runs were unearned.
Stephenson finished his 6.0 inning outing with a 1-2-3 sixth, which included a strikeout of Nathaniel Sagdahl, and then gave way to relievers
Carter Sells and
Nick Norton who combined for two scoreless frames.
Sells was the beneficiary of an outfield assist with
Colton Eager gunning down Beau Orlando at home plate from right field. In the eighth, Orlando struck out looking (vs. Norton) with the bases loaded.
ACU scored all its runs in the seventh as Hammit would later come around on a wild pitch.
Gieser and Cruz each had multi-hit games, going a combined 4-for-8 with two runs scored.
