Wildcats' offense struggles in Austin

Friday, February 24

Austin, Texas

11 A.M. CT

Abilene Christian

3-8

Texas Southern

1-6

Texas Southern

Abilene Christian

Photo by: Aly Bayliss

2/24/2023 4:39:00 PM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

AUSTIN, Texas– Abilene Christian softball dropped two games to open the Lone Star State Invitational on Friday. The Wildcats took an early lead in their first game of the day, but late runs from Texas Southern made the difference. The team had a tough test in game two, going up against the 10^th-ranked team in the country, Virginia Tech. The Hokies got their offense going early and earned a win in five innings.

HOW IT HAPPENED:
Game 1

Despite not registering a hit in the first inning, the Wildcats scored two runs in the bottom of the inning with Sammie Shelander driving in the first.
ACU held the Tigers scoreless until the fifth inning when TSU took advantage of an ACU error to score one with a second run coming across on a wild pitch.
The Tiger followed the fifth inning with a three run sixth to take a 5-2 lead.
Gianna Russo took advantage of a pinch-hitting opportunity in the bottom of the seventh to drive in a run with an RBI single, but that was all the Wildcats managed, falling 5-3.

Game 2

Virginia Tech got on the board in the top of the first putting up a single run in the frame.
A three-run homerun for the Hokies in the second pushed their advantage to 4-0 though two innings.
VT tallied five runs in the third and two more in the fourth to push their lead to 11-0.
Shaylee Alani tallied the lone hit for the Wildcats.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE:

The Wildcats came into the weekend as one of the hottest offensive teams in the country, ranking in the top-40 nationally in five different categories. The offense struggled to get going early going just 5-41 on the day.
Shelander knocked her first-career triple in the sixth inning of the Texas Southern game.
Russo earned her first-career RBI with her RBI-single in the bottom of the seventh against TSU.

ON DECK:

ACU will be back in action tomorrow at 12:30 p.m. when they face Texas Southern again and will face the host Longhorns at 6:30 p.m. on the Longhorn Network.

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