HUNTSVILLE, Texas – For the first time in the Division I history of the program, and for the first time since 1968, the ACU baseball team is headed to the Southland Conference Tournament. The Wildcats' 12-6 win in game one over the Sam Houston Bearkats Saturday afternoon at Don Sanders Stadium clinched the first appearance in the tournament in their fourth year of eligibility. The first four years of Division I featured the postseason ban, and now the Wildcats (30-18, 21-12 SLC) will get that taste of the postseason. The win was the 11th straight, one shy of the largest winning streak in 11 years (12 in a row in 2010). Sam Houston won in a walk-off in 10 innings in game two of the doubleheader, putting an end to the historic streak. The two teams will wrap the series on Sunday.
Game 1: ACU 12, SHSU 6
It was an offense outburst that featured early and late production, with ACU scoring four times in the first and six times in the seventh to secure the win.
ACU loaded the bases with no one out in each of the first two innings off Bearkat starter Dominic Robinson, and especially took advantage in the first frame. The 'Cats struck four times, beginning with a
Sebastian Randle two-run single.
Eric Wimpee and
Brett Hammit followed with run-scoring singles, and the big lead was built early. ACU forced Robinson to throw 73 pitches in the first two innings of the game.
The Wildcats added another in the second, again with the bases loaded and no outs, and it was Randle again who added to his RBI total, this time with a sacrifice fly to left. It was 5-0 in the first inning and a half, putting the Bearkats in an early hole.
Sam Houston had a huge inning of their own in the bottom of the second, scoring four times to make it a one-run game. The Bearkats evened it in the third, and it was a fresh start for both teams at the halfway point of the game.
Mitchell Dickson, who had three singles in his first three at-bats, came to the plate with runners at second and third, and did his job with a ground ball to third base. The Wildcat designated hitter nearly beat the throw, but brought home the run to give the 'Cats the lead back, 6-5.
Max Huffling, who came into the game in the home third to relieve Cervantes, then threw a scoreless bottom of the fifth and a 1-2-3 sixth to send the game to the final inning with the lead.
ACU added some nice insurance in the seventh with a two-run single from Dickson, his fourth hit of the day, and double down the right field line from Tatrow. It blew the game open in the seventh, and the team was not done. Randle tripled into right center, and
Cameron Cromer singled in the infield to add three more, and it was a 12-5 advantage.
Huffling closed it out in the seventh to secure the win.
Stat Pack
- Cervantes lasted 2.2 innings, allowing five earned.
- Huffling got his seventh win of the season, going 4.1 innings, allowing one unearned run on three hits with one strikeout.
- Dickson matched a career-high with four hits, and drove in three runs in the game.
- Randle matched a career-high with five runs driven in, and logged two hits, including his first career triple.
- Ladusau, Randle, and Tatrow each tallied two hits in the game.
- It will be a berth in the first Southland Tournament for the team since 1968, and the first as a D1 member.
Game 2: SHSU 5, ACU 4 (10 Inn.)
It was a scoreless first three innings as
Adam Stephenson and Coltin Atkinson both got off to really good starts. Each side had two hits through the game's first three frames, and the scoring did not get started until the home fourth. Sam Houston took its first lead of the series after singling to center and executing a bunt to score a pair of runs. Stephenson worked out of trouble to keep it a 2-0 game after four, and his offense helped him out in the fifth.
ACU got a run back when
Eric Wimpee, who had made a huge impact these last five games, ripped his first career home run to left field to get the 'Cats on the board.
Stephenson kept it a 2-1 game going to the sixth, and the top offense in the league struck again.
Sebastian Randle turned on one into the corner with two outs for his sixth RBI of the day, scoring
Colton Eager, who began the inning with a single, and the game was tied 2-2. It wouldn't stay tied long, as
Grayson Tatrow demolished a two-run home run in to right center field in the top of the seventh to give the 'Cats the lead back, and it appeared as though it would be enough for the doubleheader sweep. However, Sam Houston came back with two runs in the bottom of of the eighth to tie it, and the game moved into extra innings.
The Bearkats walked off in the home 10th off
Tanner Riley, and Sam Houston won the game 5-4.
Stat Pack
- Stephenson went five innings, allowing two earned runs on six hits with six strikeouts.
-
Austin Glaze allowed two earned in 2.1 innings with four strikeouts.
- Riley drops to 6-2 on the season with the loss, and allowed one run on three hits with two punch outs.
- Dickson, Eager, and Randle each recorded two hits. Dickson tallied six for the day.
- Tatrow drove in two, and Randle drove in another, giving him six for the day.
- Tatrow had four hits Saturday.
Up Next
Game four of the series was moved up to 12 p.m. on Sunday as ACU goes for the series win with veteran starter
Spencer Chirpich (5-3, 5.74 ERA) on the mound.
