Wildcats eye conference title in final weekend vs. SFA

ABILENE – The ACU baseball team, in the midst of one of the quickest rebuilds in all of college baseball, heads into the final weekend of the regular season with a chance to win the regular season championship in the Southland Conference. The Wildcats (31-18, 22-12 SLC) sit one point back of New Orleans in the points standings, but have a chance to pass and take control over the top spot in the standings when they host the SFA Lumberjacks for four games at Crutcher Scott Field. The series begins Thursday at 6:05 p.m., has a doubleheader on Friday that starts at 2:05 p.m., and culminates Saturday with a 2:05 p.m. start time. Saturday the team will honor its three seniors: Spencer Chirpich, Eric Wimpee, and Mike Brown, to celebrate their careers.

It will be free admission for all fans this weekend.

The games can be seen on ACUSports.com, and heard on 102.7 The Bear and the iHeart Radio app.

FOLLOW THE SERIES

SERIES HISTORY

• ALL-TIME SERIES SFA leads, 18-9
• LAST MEETING SFA 16, ACU 3 (Abilene - 2018)
• IN ABILENE SFA leads, 7-2 (Since 2014)
• IN NACOGDOCHES SFA leads, 5-1 (Since 2014)
• NEUTRAL SITE n/a
• POSTSEASON n/a

THE PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUPS (SFA'S BASED ON LAST WEEKEND)

THURSDAY – ACU RHP Tyler Morgan (1-3, 6.49 ERA) vs. SFA RHP Joseph Sgambelluri (3-4, 5.13 ERA)

FRIDAY G1 – ACU RHP Genner Cervantes (6-1, 6.31 ERA) vs. SFA RHP Joe Todd (3-3, 4.89 ERA)

FRIDAY G2 – ACU LHP Adam Stephenson (1-4, 3.79 ERA) vs. SFA LHP Angelo Gennari (3-4, 5.08 ERA)

SATURDAY – ACU RHP Spencer Chirpich (6-3, 5.35 ERA) vs. SFA RHP Pedro Cuellar (1-1, 2.63 ERA)

ACU STORYLINES

• SERIES WIN AT SAM – ACU did something last weekend it had never done before since moving to Division I in 2014: win a game in Huntsville against Sam Houston. Well not only did the 'Cats win a game, they won the series. ACU took the Friday opener, 10-1, before winning 12-6 on Saturday to bring the win streak to 11. ACU fell in extra innings, 5-4, in the back half of the doubleheader before claiming the series finale 5-3 to win the series. ACU hit .322 and slugged .510 with 18 of the 46 hits going for extra bases. Mitchell Dickson hit a ridiculous .500, while Bash Randle hit .438 and Grayson Tatrow hit .375. Randle and Miller Ladusau each tallied three doubles, and Tatrow smacked two homers. Tyler Morgan was brilliant Friday on the mound, tossing seven innings of one-run ball, while Spencer Chirpich dominated Sunday, going 8.2 innings allowing two earned.
• TITLE ON THE LINE – ACU sits one point back of New Orleans in the point standings going into the final weekend, but with the Privateers done with league games, the 'Cats can easily jump them with a win. ACU needs three wins to win the regular season championship. If they win twice, then they need one loss by Texas A&M-Corpus Christi to ensure a regular season title.
• INSIDE THE 11-GAME WINNING STREAK – From April 24 to May 15, the Wildcats won 11 straight games, the most since 2010. ACU hit .351 in that span, led by four guys hitting over .400 (Dickson - .467, Randle - .460, Tatrow - .444, Cruz - .438). The 'Cats ripped 44 extra base hits, including 26 doubles, a pair of triples, and 16 homers. Tatrow and Eager launches four homers apiece, while Dickson, Randle, and Ladusau hit a pair of blasts. Eager drove in a team-high 15 in that span, while Dickson tallied 14 RBI. Adam Stephenson, in three appearances, had a 1.15 ERA in 15.2 innings. Tyler Morgan had a 2.00 ERA, and Max Huffling had a 2.63 ERA out of the 'pen. The staff as a whole put together a 3.58 ERA in 11 games.
• THE REAL CHIRP – It was an incredible outing by Spencer Chirpich Sunday at Sam Houston. The senior went 8.2 to ensure a series win, and struck out a career-high 10 batters in the process. Chirp allowed just two earned on seven hits, and threw a career-high 119 pitches, including 83 for strikes. It was his sixth win of the season, and he was dominant from the get-go, striking out six of the first nine Sam Houston hitters.
• TEAM NATIONAL RANKINGS – Here's where ACU ranks in different categories:
  • 16th (1st Southland) - Hits (488)
  • 18th (1st Southland) - Doubles (100)
  • 22nd (1st Southland) - Runs Scored (351)
  • 26th (1st Southland) - On Base Percentage (.396)
  • 27th (1st Southland) - Batting Average (.297)
  • 37th (1st Southland) - Runs Per Game (7.2)
  • 40th (2nd Southland) - Total Walks (222)
• TEAM NATIONAL RANKINGS – Here's where ACU individuals rank in different categories:
  • Mitchell Dickson
    • 31st (1st Southland) - Batting Average (.390)
    • 25th (3rd Southland) - Hits (69)
    • 39th (1st Southland) - Runs (49)
  • Colton Eager
    • 36th (3rd Southland) - Doubles (16)
    • 55th (2nd Southland) - Home Runs (12)
    • 44th (2nd Southland) - RBI (49)
    • 23rd (2nd Southland) - Total Bases (122)
  • Max Huffling
    • 40th (2nd Southland) - Wins (7)

SCOUTING SFA (19-28, 16-19 SLC)

• The Lumberjacks had their game cancelled Tuesday against UTA, but are coming off a series win at home over Northwestern State.
• SFA is fighting for a spot in next week's conference tournament, and may need a little help to get in. The team currently sits in the eighth spot, and the top eight head to Hammond.
• Skylar Black leads the team in batting average at .299, guiding an offense that hits .236 as a team.
• The pitching staff has a team ERA of 4.59.