ABILENE - Abilene Christian baseball handed Nicholls its first two losses of the 2021 Southland Conference season Saturday with a doubleheader sweep at Crutcher Scott Field. The Wildcats received a 7.0 inning complete game from
Genner Cervantes and home runs from
Brett Hammit and Hunter Geiser to beat the Colonels' in game one, 4-1. ACU won the night cap, 6-5, in walk-off fashion on Hammit's ground-rule double over the wall in center.
The Wildcats are 12-6 overall and 4-3 in the Southland heading into Sunday's series finale against the Colonels, who fell to 8-10 and 5-2. Tomorrow's first pitch is set for 2:05 p.m.
Game One Recap
Genner Cervantes improved to 3-0 on the season behind a 7.0 inning complete game performance (4K) vs. the Colonels in which he scattered five hits (one run) and walked none.
Holding onto a 2-0 lead, Cervantes escaped a two-on, no-out jam in the fourth by getting two ground balls and a strikeout of Wes Toups. Two innings later he induced a 5-4-3 double play, and in the seventh he got three more groundouts following a leadoff single.
Cervantes' teammates backed him with two runs in the first, plus single runs in the fourth and sixth. Geiser blasted his first home run of the season to left with one gone in the second to put ACU ahead 1-0.
Miller Ladusau followed with a single (one of five for him today) and scored two batters later on Randle's RBI ground ball to shortstop.
Hammitt added another solo shot to left off starter Trever Kilcrease to begin the fourth, and in the sixth
Tommy Cruz scored an insurance run via walk, balk, passed ball and wild pitch.
Game Two Recap
The Wildcats bounced back from an 4-0 first inning deficit thanks to some clutch moments on the mound, at the plate and in the field.
Starting pitcher
Adam Stephenson was hit around some in the first inning, allowing four runs on three hits and two walks, but afterward he was dominant, allowing
just two base runners over his final 5.0 innings with five strikeouts. He finished his outing having retired the last 10 batters he faced.
Stephenson left the game holding a one-run lead as his offense batted around during a five-run second inning. The Wildcats had six straight batters reach base with one out, which included RBI hits from
Sebastian Randle,
Mitchell Dickson and
Colton Eager.
The score remained that way until the eighth when a two-out error allowed Nicholls to briefly tie the game at 5-5 against reliever
Tanner Riley.
ACU came up empty handed despite threatening during their half of the eighth, but in the ninth, Dickson drew a leadoff walk, advanced to second on a bunt by Eager, and then after Cruz was intentionally walked, Hammit punished a pitch thrown by Joe Taylor to left-center field. The ball drifted over the head of the fielder, took a bounce off the warning track and over the fence, scoring Dickson.
Riley's win is his fifth of the season against zero losses, and he still maintains a spotless ERA through seven appearances and 17.0 innings pitched.
