WAC play begins as ACU heads to UTRGV

EDINBURG, Texas – ACU baseball opens up play in the Western Athletic Conference for the first time in its history this weekend on the road UTRGV. The Wildcats (7-5) will play the Vaqueros (9-4) in a three-game series on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, March 11-13, at the uTRGV Baseball Stadium. Saturday's start time was moved up from 6 p.m. to 2 p.m., so the teams will play at 7 p.m., 2 p.m., and 12 p.m. this weekend. All three games will air on ESPN+.

SERIES HISTORY VS. UTRGV

• ALL-TIME | ACU leads, 4-3
• LAST MEETING | ACU 6, UTRGV 5 (Feb. 21, 2016 - Abilene)
• STREAK | ACU, w4
• IN ABILENE | ACU leads, 4-0
• IN EDINBURG | UTRGV leads, 3-0
• NEUTRAL | n/a
• POSTSEASON | n/a

THE PROJECTED PITCHING MATCHUPS

FRIDAY | ACU RHP Tyler Morgan (2-0, 4.26 ERA) vs. UTRGV RHP Kevin Stevens (2-0, 0.00 ERA)
SATURDAY I ACU RHP Breck Eichelberger (2-1, 4.11 ERA) vs. UTRGV RHP Colten Davis (2-0, 2.00 ERA)
SUNDAY | ACU LHP Adam Stephenson (0-1, 9.72 ERA) vs. UTRGV RHP Jesus Aldaz (0-1, 6.35 ERA)

ACU STORYLINES

• MARIST SWEEP
  • ACU swept the Marist Red Foxes of the MAAC this past weekend at The Crutch, and it was all about the offense. ACU won 9-2 on Friday, an absurd 23-1 on Saturday, and a high-scoring 10-8 game on Sunday. ACU scored 42 runs, tallied 47 hits, and dominated in all facets of the game. The sweep was ACU's second of the year, and it's the second three-game winning streak of the season. ACU swept Michigan State the weekend before at home as well.
• RIDICULOUSLY GREAT OFFENSE OVER THE WEEKEND
  • We mentioned the 42 runs and 47 hits. ACU hit .395 for the weekend, slugged .832, and tallied 41 RBI as a team. Grayson Tatrow hit .500 for the weekend (7-14), hit three homers and a double, and drove in nine runs. Bash Randle hit .455 with two bombs and five driven in, while Hunter Gieser hit .444 with two homers, a double, and four RBI. Tanner Tweedt launched a pair of homers out of Crutcher Scott as well, and hit .545 (6-11). Riley Bender went 4-for-6 and Alexei Cazarin and Aaron Staeheley all hit homers as well. Colton Eager hit .417, Miller Ladusau hit .300, while Mitchell Dickson and Tommy Cruz also hit homers.
• TEAM RANKINGS THIS SEASON
  • Slugging Percentage - .565 (1st WAC, 7th NCAA)
  • Home Runs - 21 (1st WAC, 8th NCAA)
  • Strikeouts Per Nine Innings - 11.9 (1st WAC, 8th NCAA)
  • Batting Average - .324 (1st WAC, 17th NCAA)
  • Hit by Pitch - 24 (1st WAC, 18th NCAA)
  • On Base Percentage - .430 (1st WAC, 19th NCAA)
  • Scoring Average - 8.6 (1st WAC, 34th NCAA)
  • Runs - 95 (1st WAC, 35th NCAA)
  • Hits - 125 (2nd WAC, 27th NCAA)
  • Doubles - 26 (4th WAC, 39th NCAA)
• SELLING OUT ON THE MOUND
  • Right hander Carter Sells was great again out of the bullpen this weekend. Sells went 4.0 innings to earn the save Friday night, allowing no runs on just one hit with a strikeout. Sells this season has a 1.04 ERA in three appearances, allowing one earned in eight innings of work.
• 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 UTRGV (9-4)

• The Vaqueros are coming off a win against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, 4-0, after taking three out of four from Youngstown State.
• UTRGV's strength is their pitching staff, which has a combined 3.54 ERA. The three starters have a combined 47 strikeouts between them.

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