STEPHENVILLE, Texas – Miller Ladusau and
Bash Randle drove in three runs,
Mitchell Dickson tallied three hits, and the ACU baseball team erased an early deficit to top Tarleton, 11-7, Friday night. The Wildcats (24-21, 12-10 WAC) trailed 5-1 after three innings, but battled back with three in the fifth, and erupted for five in the seventh to take a lead they would not give back.
Tyler Morgan set a new ACU record in the process, and
Sam Berberich was brilliant out of the bullpen to get the win as the 'Cats win their fourth-straight WAC game, and now sit one game behind Lamar and UTRGV for second place in the Southwest Division standings.
How It Happened
- ACU got on the board right away in the top of the first when
Colton Eager doubled the opposite way to left field to plate
Mitchell Dickson. The 'Cats led 1-0 after one.
- Tarleton evened the game in the bottom of the second inning at 1-1 before taking a 5-1 lead in the bottom of the third inning off Morgan. A home run and a double put the Texans in front, and ACU had to battle back down four runs.
- The fifth inning was big for the Wildcats, who scored three times to get back in the game. Ladusau doubled down the right field line on a sharp ground ball to score
Grayson Tatrow to make it 5-2, and after a
Bryson Hill sacrifice fly to get it to a two-run game,
Hunter Gieser doubled down the line in left to score Ladusau to make it a 5-4 deficit. It felt like a brand new ballgame at that point.
- Tarleton got a run back in the bottom of the fifth with a sacrifice fly to lead 6-4, but ACU answered yet again with a run in the sixth on a Tatrow bomb to right field to make it 6-5. Then the seventh inning happened.
- ACU has been great in the seventh inning all season long (more on that below), and that continued Friday night. With runners at second and third,
Aaron Staehely put one in play to the mound, and a throwing error by the Tarleton pitcher allowed a run to score to tie the game and Gieser to advance to third.
Bash Randle then took advantage with a two-run single to put the 'Cats in front, 8-6. Ladusau then added to the lead with a two-run single up the middle, and the lead was all of a sudden 10-6.
- ACU added another run to the lead in the top of the ninth inning when Randle was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded.
- Tarleton scored a run in the home ninth but that was it, and the 'Cats held on 11-7.
Stat Pack
- Morgan went 5.1 in the start, and only allowed one earned run on five hits with three strikeouts, taking a no-decision.
- Berberich was excellent in relief, tossing 3.2 innings to get the win to move to 1-0 on the season, allowing one run on three hits with a career-high six strikeouts.
- Ladusau went 3-for-5 with three runs driven in to lead ACU, while Randle tallied two hits but also drove in three runs.
- Dickson followed up his five-hit night against #9 Texas Tech with a three-hit performance Friday. The catcher scored two runs as well.
- Tatrow and Eager each tallied two hits, with Tatrow scoring a team-high three runs. The Wildcat center fielder hit his 14th home run of the season as well.
Beyond the Box Score
- The first out of the bottom of the first inning was a historic one. It marked the 139th strikeout in the career of
Tyler Morgan, which now ranks No. 1 in ACU's Division I history.
- The three RBI for Ladusau ties a career-high, and a new season-high.
- Berberich's previous career-best was three punch outs, and the right-hander doubled that total Friday night.
- ACU has now outscored its opponents 55-15 in the seventh inning this season after doing so 5-0 Friday night.
On Deck
- ACU goes for the series win in game two on Saturday, May 7, with first pitch slated for 2 p.m. The game will air on the WAC Digital Network.
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