AUSTIN – Mitchell Dickson led the way with two hits Sunday afternoon at UFCU Disch-Falk Field, but the ACU baseball team fell 11-1 in seven innings in the finale of a historic three-game series against No. 3 Texas. The Wildcats (19-16) scored in the third inning, but UT (30-8) scored early and often to pull away for their 13th consecutive win. Sunday wraps up a stretch of eight games in 10 days for the team.
Just how rare was this series? It was just the fifth series (at least three games) against a Power 5 opponent in the history of the program, and the first such series since 2017.
ACU put a pair on with two outs in the top of the first, with
Colton Eager drawing a walk and
Tommy Cruz singling up the middle, but a strikeout from Texas starter Kolby Kubichek ended the threat.
UT jumped in front in the bottom of the first with four runs on four hits off Wildcat starter
Spencer Chirpich, and did not look back. They added two more in the second, knocking the ACU right-hander out in the frame.
Adam Stephenson took over and got a strikeout and a flyout to get out of the second-inning jam.
The 'Cats got on the board in the third inning when
Alexei Cazarin, making his 22nd straight start, led off with a doubled down the left field line. After Dickson singled into center to put runners on the corners, Cazarin came in to score on a double play off the bat of
Grayson Tatrow. ACU trailed 6-1 after three.
Hunter Gieser was hit by a pitch and
Brett Hammit drew a walk on back-to-back plate appearances with two outs in the fourth, and a ground ball to third from
Sebastian Randle was booted off the glove of Cam Williams to load bases. However, a Cazarin strikeout kept the Wildcats scoreless in the frame.
Zach Zubia homered off Stephenson to right field in the home fourth, and UT pushed its lead to 7-1.
ACU opened the fifth with back-to-back knocks from Dickson and Tatrow, but
Colton Eager grounded into a double play that was incredibly executed by Texas. The first baseman gathered a sharp ball of the bat, turned to second, and the pitcher Kubichek covered the bag at first for the 3-6-1 double play. ACU left Dickson at third and could not push across the run.
Tanner Riley took over in the home fifth, making his first appearance of the series, but only lasted a third of an inning as UT scored three in the inning and led 10-1 at that point.
Austin Glaze took over before giving way to
Carter Sells.
Texas scored another in the sixth to make it 11-1, and ACU went down in order in the seventh. The game ended in a run-rule in the seventh inning.
Stat Pack
- Chirpich threw 1.1 innings, allowing six runs on seven hits in his shortest outing of the season.
- Stephenson went 2.2 innings in his first relief outing of the season.
- Tatrow recorded another hit, giving him six for the series, tying his second-most in a series this season.
- Riley threw 0.1 innings, while Glaze went and inning and Sells tossed 0.2 frames.
- Dickson led the way with a pair of hits.
Up Next
The Wildcats return to Abilene next weekend as they resume Southland Conference play. The UIW Cardinals come to town for a four-game series, beginning Friday, April 23 at 6:05 p.m. Both the Saturday doubleheader and the Sunday single game begin at 2:05 p.m.
