ABILENE – Junior
Adam Stephenson struck out five batters, three players hit home runs, but the ACU baseball team fell Wednesday 9-4 to the United States Air Force Academy at Crutcher Scott Field. The Wildcats (15-14) once again honored the Dyess Air Force in Abilene at The Crutch, and in honor of the Air Force, hosted a pre-game flyover from the United States Air Force Reserves - 457th Fighter Squadron, 301st Fighter Wing, NAS JRB Fort Worth. Col. Jeff Darden, the 317th Maintenance Group Commander, threw out the ceremonial first pitch as well.
How It Happened
- ACU struck first this time, scoring on a sacrifice fly from
Miller Ladusau to lead 1-0.
- Stephenson was brilliant on the mound, locking down the Air Force offense for the four innings of his afternoon. His five strikeouts through four limited anything the Falcons tried to put on base.
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Bash Randle launched a homer to dead center field in the fifth, and the 'Cats led 2-0 halfway through the game.
- The game changed in the sixth. Air Force scored five runs off
Drake Boggan and
Connor Carlton, and the Falcons took control of the game, 5-2.
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Tanner Tweedt got a run back with a home run to right field to make it 5-3 in the bottom of the sixth.
- Air Force tacked on three more runs in the seventh, and the 8-3 lead was tough to come back from.
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Brett Hammit delivered with a pinch-hit, solo home run to left in the bottom of the eighth.
- The Falcons got a solo shot of their own in the ninth to win, 9-4.
Stat Pack
- Five Wildcats tallied two hits apiece: Randle, Ladusau, Tweedt,
Mitchell Dickson, and
Aaron Staehely.
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Grayson Tatrow reached base three times with a hit and two walks.
- Hammit and Tweedt hit their fifth homers of the year, while Randle hit his fourth.
- Stephenson's four innings matched a season-high, and his five strikeouts were the second-best of the 2022 campaign.
- Boggan, Carlton, and
Austin Glaze all struck out two batters.
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Sam Berberich and
Cinoon Bak also got time out of the bullpen Wednesday.
Beyond the Box Score
- Wednesday marked the third time this season ACU tallied three or more home runs in a game. The Wildcats hit 10 against Marist and four against SFA.
- Tatrow's on-base streak is now up to 21 straight games, while
Colton Eager's is now at 15 games in a row.
- Tweedt now leads the way with an eight-game hitting streak.
- Ladusau already has five hits this week with three games left to play.
Up Next
- The six-game home stand continues this weekend with a pivotal series against Sam Houston. Both teams sit at 7-5 in WAC play heading into the series at Crutcher Scott Field. Friday's game begins at 6:05 p.m., Saturday's starts at 3:05 p.m., and Sunday's finale begins at 1:05 p.m. All games will air on the WAC Digital Network.
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