Premiere matchup set Tuesday as ACU welcomes No. 9 Texas Tech

ABILENE – The ACU baseball team returns to Crutcher Scott Field in a big way this week when it hosts No. 9 Texas Tech. It's a rematch of ACU's highest-ranked win in program history from last Tuesday, when the Wildcats (23-20, 11-10 WAC) took down the ninth-ranked Red Raiders, 8-5. Texas Tech (31-16, 11-7 Big 12) is ACU's highest-ranked home opponent ever, and comes in winning two-out-of-three last weekend at Baylor. ACU rides a four-game winning streak coming into Tuesday night. The game gets underway at 6:05 p.m., and airs on ESPN+. The game is presented by First Financial Bank.

SERIES HISTORY VS. TEXAS TECH

• SINCE JOINING DIVISION I IN 2014 | 9th meeting (TTU leads, 7-1)
• LAST MEETING | ACU 8, #9 TTU 5 (April 26, 2022 - Lubbock)
• STREAK | ACU, w1
• IN ABILENE | TTU leads, 2-0
• IN LUBBOCK | TTU leads, 3-1
• NEUTRAL | TTU leads, 2-0
• POSTSEASON | n/a

THE PROJECTED PITCHING MATCHUP

ACU LHP Max Huffling (3-0, 3.90 ERA) vs. Texas Tech LHP Mason Molina (1-5, 3.98 ERA)

ACU STORYLINES

• BIG WEEK – ACU went 4-0 last week including the program's first-ever win over a Top-10 team, topping No. 9 Texas Tech, 8-5, in Lubbock. The Wildcats then went to Nacogdoches for an important series at SFA, and won all three by a combined score of 34-15. ACU hit .316 for the week, and slugged .586 with 11 home runs and eight doubles as an offensive unit. The pitching was spectacular as well, posting a team ERA of 3.50 with 54 strikeouts.
• WHERE THE WILDCATS STAND – ACU currently sits in fourth place in the WAC Southwest Division at 11-10, but is just three games out of first place with nine games remaining. The Wildcats have a three-game series with Tarleton (6-15) this weekend, and then play at home vs. second-place Lamar (13-8), and close the regular season at first-place Sam Houston (14-7).
• AN EYE ON THE STREAKS – Colton Eager leads ACU with a 29-game reached base streak, while Miller Ladusau has reached safely in 16-straight games. Ladusau and Bryson Hill each lead the 'Cats with six-game hitting streaks.
• 20-K PERFORMANCE – ACU struck out 20 batters as a team last Friday at SFA, setting a new Division I program record. Tyler Morgan, the WAC Pitcher of the Week, struck out 12 of those batters, breaking a new Division I program record as well. Carter Sells struck out five, while Drake Boggan struck out three.
• TATROW'S WEEK – Grayson Tatrow had himself a case for WAC Player of the Week after driving in 14 runs on just five hits. The junior hit a pair of grand slams, including an inside-the-park four-bagger against Texas Tech. Three of his five hits were extra-base knocks, including one double as well.
• BIG LEAGUE LOOKING – Head coach Rick McCarty called Max Huffling's performance against Texas Tech "big league-like." The sophomore southpaw tossed 3.0 innings of scoreless ball to get the save, and of the nine outs he got, seven were via the strikeout. Huffling needed just 37 pitches Tuesday, and did not allow a hit.
• INDIVIDUAL RECORDS WATCH – Colton Eager became just the fourth Wildcat to play in 200 career games, joining his brother Tyler (216), Russell Crippen (204), and Aaron Draper (204). He also became the Wildcats' Division I era record holder in career RBI with 127, passing his older brother as well (124). Eager needs just four more runs scored to become the leader in that category as well (135 currently). Grayson Tatrow became the Division I era record holder for career home runs (23). Tyler Morgan needs one more strikeout and he will become No. 1 in career K's at the D1 level at ACU (138). He is currently in a tie with Nate Cole, who played from 2014-16.

SCOUTING #9 TEXAS TECH (31-16, 11-7 BIG 12)

• The Red Raiders took two-out-of-three from Baylor over the weekend, winning the first two games, 7-1 and 11-1, before falling in the finale on Sunday, 11-7.
• Texas Tech has an incredibly dynamic offense, slugging .507 with 119 doubles, 11 triples, and 68 home runs.
• Kurt Wilson leads the way with 58 RBI, while Jace Jung leads TTU with 12 home runs.

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