ABILENE — Sebastian Randle and
Grayson Tatrow each drove in a run on Thursday night, but the Wildcat baseball team fell in a 12-inning affair at Crutcher Scott Field to Northwestern State, 8-2. It was a pitcher's dual early, and when ACU (15-9, 7-6 SLC) trailed 2-0 halfway through, they clawed back to even it up in the seventh. The game went scoreless from that point all the way to the 12th frame, when Northwestern State (11-12, 5-4 SLC) scored six in the top of the inning to pull away, 8-2.
Strong outing from Morgan
Freshman
Tyler Morgan made his second straight on day one of a series, and was strong. The right-hander tossed 7.0 innings, allowing just two runs on four hits. He only allowed two base runners in the first four innings, and was in a dual with Northwestern State's Johnathan Harmon. The two pitched a scoreless game going to the fifth.
Each team scores in the fifth, ACU ties it in the seventh
Northwestern State cracked the scoreboard first, scoring runs on a single and a sacrifice fly off Morgan to go up 2-0. The Wildcats fought back in the home fifth, taking advantage of Gieser and Tatrow leading off the frame with back-to-back singles. After a
Mike Brown sacrifice bunt to move the runners,
Sebastian Randle flew out to right field to plate Gieser on the sacrifice fly. ACU trailed 2-1 after five.
After a scoreless sixth, ACU tied the game up in the seventh frame. Gieser set the table again with a one-out double, and Tatrow followed it up with a single to plate him. It was a 2-2 game, and the pitching was strong to get it to extras.
NSU wins it in the 12th
The Demons scored on a wild pitch, a single, and a three-run home run to break the game open in the 12th.
Tanner Riley suffered the loss in relief.
Stat Pack
- Morgan struck out six in his start.
-
Max Huffling struck out four in his two innings of scoreless relief work.
- Riley tossed three innings, allowing six runs on four hits with four punch outs.
- It was a three-hit night for Tatrow, while Gieser and
Colton Eager each tallied two hits. Gieser scored both runs for ACU.
Up Next
The two teams will square off at 2:05 p.m. on Friday for a doubleheader at The Crutch. The series wraps up on Saturday with a single game that starts at 2:05 p.m.
