ACU meets Oklahoma at Globe Life Field on Wednesday

ARLINGTON – Welcome to The Show. The ACU baseball team is set for its first-ever trip to Globe Life Field, the home of the MLB's Texas Rangers, for the College Baseball Series presented by Higginbotham. The Wildcats (3-1) will take on the Oklahoma Sooners (2-2) in the first of nine games against Power 5 competition this season. The teams will meet for the first time since the 2016 season, and the game will get underway at 6:05 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 22. The game will air on both ESPN+ and on radio on the ACU Sports Network.

Abilene Christian (3-1, 0-0 WAC)

vs.

Oklahoma (2-2, 0-0 Big 12)

ABILENE CHRISTIAN (3-1, 0-0 WAC) vs. OKLAHOMA (2-2, 0-0 BIG 12)
Wednesday, Feb. 22 · 6:05 p.m. · Globe Life Field (40,300) · Arlington, Texas
Projected Starters: RHP Blake Anderson (1-0, 3.00 ERA) vs. LHP Braden Carmichael (0-0, 0.00 ERA)
Watch (ESPN+)
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SERIES HISTORY VS. OKLAHOMA

ALL-TIME | 4th meeting (Oklahoma leads, 3-0)
LAST MEETING | Oklahoma 7, ACU 1 (Feb. 24, 2016 - Norman, Okla.)
STREAK | Oklahoma, w3
IN ABILENE | n/a
IN NORMAN | Oklahoma leads, 3-0
NEUTRAL | n/a
POSTSEASON | n/a

ACU STORYLINES

GLOBE LIFE FIELD GAME – Globe Life Field has hosted multiple college baseball games in the past, and continues to host the Big 12 Tournament, where OU topped Texas in the final game in the spring of 2022. This is ACU's debut at the new home of the Rangers, which opened in 2020. New to 2023, fans at College Baseball Showdown presented by Higginbotham will be able to purchase tickets in an exclusive fan zone. Fans will be able to experience a party in left field. Fan Zone passes can be purchased for additional fee of $10 per day, and $24 for a weekend pass. Gates will open at 5 p.m. and first pitch is scheduled for 6:05 p.m. Tickets start at $15, and parking is also available for purchase in advance. ACU is hosting an exclusive pregame celebration for ACU alumni and friends at the StubHub Club, starting at 5 p.m. for a come-and-go reception with plenty of hors d'oeuvres and an opportunity to connect with Wildcat alumni and fans before the game.
OPENING WEEKEND – ACU opened the 2023 campaign 3-1 or better for the third time under fifth-year head coach Rick McCarty after taking games one, two, and four against Nevada at Crutcher Scott Field. ACU used come-from-behind wins on Friday (5-3) and Saturday (5-4) to open the weekend, and after losing a late lead on Sunday to fall 9-7, bounced back to win 7-3 on Monday afternoon.
OPENING WEEKEND NUMBERS – ACU hit .306 as a team through the first four games, scored 24 runs, and hit five home runs. The pitching staff got off to a tremendous start putting together a team ERA of 4.75, and six different pitchers put together scoreless appearances over the course of the weekend. The bullpen locked down multiple late innings in the three wins, and did a great job of holding down the fort while the 'Cats came back from early deficits in the first two wins of the season.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Transfer Logan Britt was named the WAC Hitter of the Week for his performance in the first three games of the series. In those three outings, the centerfielder led ACU with a .615 batting average, going 8-13. He had all three types of extra-base hits, including his first homer as a Wildcat on on Saturday. Britt drove in three runs, tallied 14 total bases, totaled an on-base percentage of .615, and tallied a 1.077 slugging percentage all before Monday's game even took place. Through four games, Britt is hitting .588 with 10 hits and four runs driven in.
D1BASEBALL PRESEASON – D1Baseball released its preseason picks for the Western Athletic Conference, and ACU was picked sixth in the league and Randle was selected as a preseason first team all-WAC selection at second base. It also highlighted the top draft prospects from the conference as a whole, and in the 2023 draft, Eichelberger was the sixth-best prospect in the league, while Texas A&M transfer Logan Britt was ninth overall out of the outfield spot. Morgan, back for his junior season, came in at 13 on the list as well. In the 2024 draft, Byrd was listed fourth in line in the league. Tatrow was labeled #138 in the top 150 outfielders in the country, and Randle was selected as preseason first team all-conference. Randle returns as an all-conference selection two years in a row, while Tatrow was the Southland Newcomer of the Year and on the second team in 2021.
PRESEASON POLL / AWARDS – The Western Athletic Conference announced the preseason poll and the preseason all-conference selections for the upcoming season, and the Wildcats are picked tied for fourth in the 13-team league. Junior Bash Randle and seniors Grayson Tatrow and Tanner Tweedt were all named to the all-conference list as well prior to the season. Grand Canyon was picked to win the conference, followed by Sam Houston and California Baptist. ACU tied with UTRGV and Sacramento State for fourth overall.
BACK TO ONE BIG LEAGUE – The WAC is moving back to a traditional format in 2023. All 13 teams will be in one standings list, and there will be no divisions this season. There will be 30 league games against 10 of the 12 possible opponents, and the 2023 WAC Tournament will start May 24 in Mesa, Ariz.
WELCOME BACK COACH FURUTO – Head coach Rick McCarty announced the addition of a familiar face to join the staff. Daniel Furuto returns to ACU as an assistant coach after spending last season as an assistant at Purdue. Furuto takes over the role vacated by Craig Parry, who departed ACU to join the Toronto Blue Jays as the hitting coordinator. Furuto was on the original staff put together by McCarty back in June 2018 when McCarty was hired at ACU, and he returns as the hitting coach in 2023. The former Wildcat volunteer assistant has spent time at Georgia State and UAB the last few years, and joined Purdue baseball as an assistant coach in July 2021, reuniting with Greg Goff after Furuto played for Goff on a Division II College World Series team and also worked with him at Campbell. Furuto served as director of the program's youth and prospect camps in West Lafayette.
A GLANCE AT THE TOUGH SCHEDULE – The 2023 slate encompasses 55 games, including 30 Western Athletic Conference games (10 three-game series), and another 25 non-conference games (four series and 11 single games). Overall the team will host 35 times at Crutcher Scott Field (the most in the Rick McCarty era), where the team is 61-39 over the last four seasons. ACU will play 21 games against teams that finished in the top 100 in RPI in 2022, nine games against Power 5 opponents (Oklahoma, TCU x2, Baylor x2, Nebraska, Texas Tech x2, Texas), and seven games against 2022 regional teams (Oklahoma, Southeast Missouri, Oral Roberts, TCU, Texas Tech, Texas, Grand Canyon). There are five first-time opponents on the slate (Southeast Missouri, Sacramento State, Nebraska, California Baptist, Utah Tech), and there are four home games against Power 5 opponents (Nebraska, TCU, Texas Tech, Baylor).
MILESTONE WATCH – Head Coach Rick McCarty enters his fifth season as the head man at ACU, and earned his 100th career win on Opening Day. He sits at 103 career victories in his time at ACU, which includes a regular-season championship and a runner-up finish at the tournament.

SCOUTING OKLAHOMA (2-2, 0-0 BIG 12)

The Sooners took the season opener against California Baptist last weekend, but the Lancers won games two and three to take the series in Norman. OU then bounced back with a win on Monday against Air Force, 8-6. Junior shortstop Dakota Harris hit a two-run double in the bottom of the eighth inning to break a tie.
OU is led statistically by Anthony Mackenzie, who is hitting .429 with three RBI, while Harris leads the way with six runs driven in through the first four games.

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