Baseball heads to UIW for first road game of 2022

SAN ANTONIO – After a three-game sweep of the Big Ten's Michigan State on Sunday and Monday, the ACU baseball team takes its talents on the road for the first time this season with a single game at former Southland Conference and future WAC rival UIW. The Wildcats (4-3) battle the Cardinals (2-2) at Sullivan Field on Wednesday, March 2 at 4 p.m. ACU's schedule is busy this week, as they will return home for a weekend series with Marist of the MAAC.

FOLLOW THE GAME

SERIES HISTORY

ACU leads the all-time series, 46-28, and features years of meetings back in the Division II days of both programs. ACU and UIW each moved up to Division I and the Southland Conference in 2014, and will now meet for the first time as non-conference opponents. ACU swept UIW in a three-gamer at Crutcher Scott Field last season. ACU leads the series 10-5 in Abilene since 2014. UIW will be joining the WAC in July 2022, and will return as a conference rival next spring.

THE PROJECTED PITCHING MATCHUP

ACU RHP Genner Cervantes (0-0, 6.75 ERA) vs. UIW LHP Carson Rollins (0-0, 0.00 ERA)

ACU STORYLINES

• BIG TEN SWEEP
  • ACU swept the Spartans of Michigan State at Crutcher Scott Field, scoring 10 or more in all three games. ACU took game one, 10-1, game two, 12-4, and game three, 10-2. The Wildcats scored 32 runs on 33 hits, hit .324 for the weekend, and had an on-base percentage of .469. ACU also put together a 2.33 ERA over the weekend as a staff, with the three wins coming from Tyler Morgan, Breck Eichelberger, and Max Huffling.
• SWINGING AWAY
  • Tanner Tweedt led the way with a .625 average against MSU, driving in six runs and slugging a ridiculous 1.250. Tweedt got a pair of starts behind the plate, and was a double away from the cycle in game two of the series. Hunter Gieser hit .444 for the weekend with six runs driven in. Bash Randle hit .417 in three games, and scored a team-high five runs. Mitchell Dickson hit .333 and had an OBP of .538 with two walks and two hit-by-pitches.
• OUTSTANDING PITCHING
  • Eichelberger got the win in game two of the series, throwing six innings allowing one earned run on six hits with eight strikeouts. ACU as a staff allowed just seven runs on 27 hits, and struck out 39 Spartan batters. Huffling threw three innings of relief, allowing no runs on Monday to earn the win. Connor Carlton struck out six in his appearance, and Carter Sells tallied five punch outs from the bullpen.
• WHO'S BACK?
  • ACU returns 26 players from the championship roster from a year ago, including all nine starters in the batting order.
• PRESEASON POLLS
  • ACU was picked to win the WAC's southwest division, and Colton Eager was named the preseason player of the year in the league. Grayson Tatrow and Tommy Cruz were also selected to the preseason all-WAC team. Eager was the Southland Conference hitter of the year last season, while Tatrow was the newcomer of the year in 2021. Cruz earned third team all-conference honors last spring.
• WELCOME HOME
  • ACU opens with 11 of their first 12 games at the friendly confines of Crutcher Scott Field. The schedule includes midweek games with Air Force, Texas Tech, TCU, Baylor, as well as future WAC opponents UIW and UT Arlington.

SCOUTING UIW (2-2)

• The Cardinals had their first series of the year against Bradley canceled, and after falling 1-0 to Tarleton to open the season officially, the team took two-of-three against South Dakota State at home last weekend.
• UIW has scored 15 runs through four games, including a 10-run game against SDSU. Ridge Rogers leads the way with a .462 average, while Herman Yanez has hit .313 thus far.

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