HOUSTON — Colton Eager and
Tommy Cruz each drove in three runs, the offense overcame a pair of deficits, and the Wildcats came out on the right end of a doubleheader sweep of the Houston Baptist Huskies Sunday afternoon. The series was crazy from the start. Friday night's game got through four innings before being suspended due to bad weather. It was supposed to resume Saturday morning at 11 a.m., but Mother Nature had other ideas, and the entire Saturday doubleheader was wiped out. The game then started back up again on Sunday, and after ACU (24-17, 15-11 SLC) picked up a 5-2 win on a combiend one-hitter from the pitching staff, and came back to win 8-6 to sweep the day. The winning streak is now up to five for the Wildcats, matching their longest of the season. The two games from Saturday will not be made up.
The win moves ACU into fourth place in the standings heading into the final three weekends of the season.
Game 1: ACU 5, HBU 2
ACU got on the board Friday in the third inning when
Tommy Cruz drove in a run with a bases-loaded walk.
Tyler Morgan got the start on the mound, and HBU tied the game and took the lead in the home third on an error and an rbi-groundout. HBU took a 2-1 lead into the rain delay, and because there are no lights at Husky Field, it was a very limited window to get the game in. The game was then suspended before the fifth inning started, and it was pushed to Saturday, and eventually Sunday.
On a beautiful, sunny Sunday afternoon at the ballpark, ACU faced a late-inning deficit. It was 2-1 HBU into the seventh inning, but a mistake allowed the game to be tied. With two on and two out, the runners advanced on a failed pickoff attempt that allowed Cruz to score, evening the game at two apiece. Freshman
Sebastian Randle put the 'Cats in front a batter later, and it was 3-2 ACU at stretch time.
Meanwhile,
Adam Stephenson was spectacular in a "start." The lefty got the ball to open the day in the fifth inning, and went four innings of relief, allowing no runs on no hits with eight strikeouts.
The Wildcats added two insurance runs in the eighth inning off back-to-back solo homers from
Grayson Tatrow and
Colton Eager. All of a sudden a 2-1 deficit was a 5-2 lead with
Tanner Riley coming out in the ninth inning. Riley struck out two of the three batters he faced in the ninth to secure the win.
Stat Pack
- Stephenson gets the win since Morgan did not go the minimum five innings required for a decision. Morgan finished with five strikeouts and allowed just one hit. Stephenson struck out eight of the 13 batters he saw as well.
- Riley recorded his fifth save, and was going on 14 days between outings. It was an impressive outing for the right-hander.
- Cruz and Randle each tallied two hits, and four Wildcats drove in runs.
- It was Eager's 10th homer of the season, and it was the fifth homer for Tatrow.
Game 2: ACU 8, HBU 6
ACU jumped in front in the second game, and they did it right away. Tatrow walked, Eager singled in the infield, and Cruz was hit by a pitch to load the bases with one out in the top of the first.
Miller Ladusau then got the scoring started with a two-run single through the right side, and
Bryson Hill followed it up with an rbi-single himself, and it was a 3-0 lead out of the gate in Houston. The offense was not done building up the lead in the first half of the game.
Tatrow delivered in the top of the fourth inning with a double to center to plate Randle, and Eager followed with an rbi-single to plate Tatrow, and the lead was 5-0. It appeared as though the Widlcats would be cruising to a sweep, but the Huskies had other plans. HBU put up five runs in the bottom of the fourth to tie the game, forcing starter
Genner Cervantes out of the game.
Max Huffling came in and kept the game tied, but HBU would take the lead in the home seventh on an rbi-single. The Huskies led 6-5, and ACU was all of a sudden down to its final six outs.
ACU was 3-10 this season when trailing after seven innings, but the fourth win came Sunday. Bash Randle got the inning started with a single, and
Alexei Cazarin bunted him over to second for
Mitchell Dickson. Dickson singled to the shortstop spot, and ACU had runners on the corners with one out. After Tatrow struck out, Eager singled to center to tie the game, 6-6, and now the 'Cats had the go-ahead run on. A wild pitch moved Dickson and Eager up to second and third, and
Tommy Cruz was clutch yet again with a two-run single to give the Wildcats an 8-6 lead.
Spencer Chirpich came in for the final two outs of the seventh, and tossed a scoreless eighth inning to get the game to the ninth with the lead. Chirpich, like Stephenson in game one, did not get his weekend start with the shortened series, and was utilized out of the bullpen.
Tanner Riley slammed the door again in the ninth, earning his second save of the day as the Wildcats grabbed the brooms for the sweep.
Stat Pack
- Cervantes allowed five runs on six hits in his 3.2 innings, striking out five batters.
- Huffling went 2.2 frames, allowing one run on two hits with a pair of punch outs.
- Chirp allowed just one baserunner in his 1.2 innings, and Riley earned his sixth save, with all three outs being recorded via the strikeout.
- Eager stayed hot with three hits and two runs driven in. The junior finished the day with four hits, three runs scored, and three RBI.
- Dickson, Tatrow, Hill, Cruz, and Randle each had two hits as the Wildcat offense tallied 14 total knocks.
