Wildcats head to Fort Worth for rematch with #12 Horned Frogs

FORT WORTH – The rematch between the ACU baseball team and the No. 12 TCU Horned Frogs is here. The two teams will get together for the second time in eight days on Tuesday night, March 28, at Lupton Stadium in Fort Worth. The Wildcats (12-11, 5-4 WAC) are coming off a win in the final game of the weekend, and take on TCU (18-5, 5-1 Big 12), who is riding a four-game winning streak after a win over ACU and a sweep of Kansas State last week. First pitch is slated for 6 p.m. Tuesday night, and the game will air on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ and 102.7 The Bear.

SERIES HISTORY VS. TCU

• ALL-TIME | 11th meeting (TCU leads, 9-1)
• LAST MEETING | #19 TCU 14, ACU 3 (7 Inn.) (March 22, 2022 - Abilene, Texas)
• STREAK | TCU, w5
• IN ABILENE | TCU leads, 5-0
• IN WACO | TCU leads, 4-1
• NEUTRAL | n/a
• POSTSEASON | n/a

THE PROJECTED PITCHING MATCHUP

ACU RHP Garrett Egli (0-0. 12.00 ERA) vs. TCU RHP Caedmon Parker (1-0, 5.79 ERA)

ACU STORYLINES

• SUNDAY'S FINALE WIN – After dropping the first two games of the weekend against Tarleton, ACU came out swinging Sunday afternoon, taking down the Texans 18-2 in seven innings. The Wildcats came out of the gate strong, scoring seven runs in the first innings, and used multiple big innings and dominant pitching to run away in a run-rule shortened seven-inning game. ACU tallied 13 hits against Tarleton pitching, and nine different players recorded a hit in the game. ACU drew nine walks, which are the most in a game this season, and the most in a game since the team took 10 against Houston Baptist on April 30, 2021.
• CERVANTES DAZZLES – Senior Genner Cervantes threw four innings to earn his first win of the season against Tarleton Sunday. Cervantes allowed one earned run on two hits with a career-high eight strikeouts.
• TEAM RANKINGS THIS SEASON
  • Strikeouts Per Nine Innings - 11.0 (1st WAC, 18th NCAA)
  • Home Runs - 32 (1st WAC, 37th NCAA)
  • On Base Percentage - .400 (1st WAC, 44th NCAA)
  • Runs - 178 (1st WAC, 45th NCAA)
  • Scoring Average - 7.7 (1st WAC, 45th NCAA)
  • Hit by Pitch - 39 (2nd WAC, 26th NCAA)
  • Slugging Percentage - .487 (2nd WAC, 39th NCAA)
  • Hits - 235 (3rd WAC, 44th NCAA)
  • Batting Average - .296 (3rd WAC, 48th NCAA)
  • Doubles - 43 (4th WAC, 101st NCAA)
• HUFFLING AND PUFFLING BATTERS DOWN – Left-hander Max Huffling was brilliant out of the bullpen on Friday against Tarleton, throwing three scoreless without allowing a hit and striking out three. The big southpaw is 3-0 on the season with a 3.06 ERA, and has struck out 22 while allowing a .186 batting average.
• AN EYE ON THE STREAKS – Mitchell Dickson's reached base streak is up to 17 games, while Grayson Tatrow has reached base safely in 15 games.
• 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 opened 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 #12 TCU (18-5, 2-1 BIG 12)

• The Horned Frogs won the series against Baylor, then beat ACU last Tuesday before sweeping Kansas State last weekend. TCU hopped back up into the No. 12 slot in Monday's rankings, and are riding a four-game winning streak into Tuesday night.
• TCU ranks No. 6 in the country in walks taken with 158, has the No. 21 fielding percentage in America at .979, is No. 20 in on-base percentage at .416, and is top 34 in scoring and top 74 in ERA.
• Tommy Sacco leads the way with a .393 average, while Brayden Taylor is hitting .359 for the year.

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