ACU has big opportunity this weekend at SFA

NACOGDOCHES, Texas – The ACU baseball team, off a historic win Tuesday night at No. 9 Texas Tech, returns to WAC play this weekend with a three-game series at SFA. The Wildcats (20-20, 8-11 WAC) currently hold that coveted fourth spot in the WAC Southwest Division, and sit a game ahead of the Lumberjacks (13-24, 7-11 WAC). ACU swept SFA in a three-game series in Abilene in March, and now has a golden chance to create some more separation between fourth and fifth in the standings. Friday night's game begins at 6:30 p.m., while Saturday's game gets started at 2 p.m., and Sunday's finale begins at 1 p.m.

SERIES HISTORY VS. SFA

• ALL-TIME | SFA leads, 13-9
• LAST MEETING | ACU 11, SFA 6 (March 20, 2022 - Abilene)
• STREAK | ACU, w3
• IN ABILENE | Tied, 8-8
• IN NACOGDOCHES | SFA leads, 5-1
• NEUTRAL | n/a
• POSTSEASON | n/a

THE PROJECTED PITCHING MATCHUPS

FRIDAY | ACU RHP Tyler Morgan (4-2, 5.26 ERA) vs. SFA RHP Joe Todd (1-5, 7.71 ERA)
SATURDAY | ACU RHP Genner Cervantes (3-3, 5.06 ERA) vs. SFA RHP Benny Emmonds III (4-0, 4.85 ERA)
SUNDAY | ACU LHP Adam Stephenson (1-2, 6.68 ERA) vs. SFA TBD

ACU STORYLINES

• WHERE THE WILDCATS STAND – ACU currently sits in fourth place in the WAC Southwest Division at 8-10. The Wildcats have 12 games left in conference play, including three games with first-place Sam Houston (13-5), second-place Lamar (11-7), fifth-place SFA (7-11), and sixth-place Tarleton (6-12).
• AN EYE ON THE STREAKS – Grayson Tatrow leads the way with a seven-game hitting streak and a 32-game on-base streak. Colton Eager has reached safely in 26 consecutive games, while Miller Ladusau has a 13-game streak.
• MULTI-HIT GAMES – Eager leads the way with 15 mult-hit games, while Tatrow has 13 such games and Bash Randle have 12. Mitchell Dickson has 11 multi-hit games, while Miller Ladusau and Tanner Tweedt each have 10.
• MULTI-RBI GAMES – Tatrow has 14 multi-RBI games, while Eager has 12 games with more than one run driven in.
• TATROW'S WEEKEND – Tatrow hit .583 for the weekend against UTRGV, and slugged a ridiculous 1.167 in three games. Of his seven hits, four were doubles and one left the park. The center fielder drove in five for the weekend to lead the 'Cats.
• CERVANTES' WINNING OUTING – Senior pitcher Genner Cervantes got the win in game one of the doubleheader against UTRGV on Saturday. Cervantes pitched 6.0 great innings, allowing two earned on five hits with seven strikeouts. He now has 30 punch outs in the last five games.
• TEAM RANKINGS THIS SEASON
  • Strikeouts Per Nine Innings - 10.4 (1st WAC, 23rd NCAA)
  • Fielding Percentage - .978 (1st WAC, 27th NCAA)
  • Home Runs - 57 (1st WAC, 38th NCAA)
  • Slugging Percentage - .490 (1st WAC, 40th NCAA)
  • Base on Balls - 185 (1st WAC, 88th NCAA)
  • Stolen Bases - 47 (1st WAC, 90th NCAA)
  • On Base Percentage - .398 (2nd WAC, 45th NCAA)
  • Runs - 292 (2nd WAC, 52nd NCAA)
  • Hit by Pitch - 60 (2nd WAC, 56th NCAA)
  • Doubles - 84 (2nd WAC, 57th NCAA)
  • Scoring - 7.3 (2nd WAC, 64th NCAA)
  • Batting Average - .293 (4th WAC, 54th NCAA)
• INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
  • Colton Eager - 15 Doubles (1st WAC, 28th NCAA)
  • Grayson Tatrow - 35 Base on Balls (1st WAC)
  • Bryson Hill - .451 On Base Percentage (2nd WAC)
  • Grayson Tatrow - 49 Runs (1st WAC)
  • Colton Eager - 41 Runs Batted In (3rd WAC)

SCOUTING SFA (13-24, 7-11 WAC)

• The Lumberjacks are coming off a series loss at Lamar, dropping a pair of one-run decisions on Friday and Sunday, and winning on Saturday, 6-0.
• Three players hit .300 or over for SFA, including Jake Zarrello, who leads the 'Jacks with a .327 average, seven home runs, and 23 runs driven in.

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