ABILENE – High drama was the theme of the day Sunday for the ACU baseball team. The Wildcats trailed in both games of the doubleheader to Southeast Missouri, but rallied for a pair of wins, 7-4 and 5-4, to claim the series three games to one. Abilene Christian is off to a 7-2 start, its best start to a season since 2018. Freshman
Maddox Miesse hit a walk-off grand slam with two outs in the bottom of the seventh to claim game one, and
Garrett Williams ripped a go-ahead single in the bottom of the eighth inning to take game two. The Wildcats have now won both series to start the season, and will continue with a home series against Houston Christian next weekend.
How It Happened - Game 1
- SEMO picked up where they left off on Saturday in the early game on Sunday, scoring three runs in the first inning off starter
Breck Eichelberger. The Redhawks jumped out in front, but the key to the game was reliever
Drake Boggan, who came in and threw 5.0 key scoreless innings to give the Wildcats a chance in game one.
- ACU got on the board in the bottom of the fifth inning when
Bash Randle launched a solo home run to left to make it a 3-1 game. With two outs,
Miller Ladusau was hit by a pitch and
Logan Britt singled to move him to third. During the next at-bat, SEMO pitcher Logan Katen balked to allow Ladusau to score. ACU was back in it, trailing 3-2 after five frames of the seven-inning game.
- The home sixth inning began with the first home run of the year for
Grayson Tatrow, a solo shot, to tie the game up at 3-3. Tatrow, who has struggled in the early going of the season, got a big one to even things up heading to the final frame.
- With two outs in the top of the seventh, the Redhawks launched a solo home run off
Blake Anderson, and the visitors led 4-3 and ACU was down to its final three outs. Enter the dramatic home seventh.
- Williams singled to lead the inning off, and Ladusau sacrificed him to second to put the tying run in scoring position. Britt stepped in and singled sharply into right, forcing Ladusau to hold at third with only one out. Britt stole second to set up second and third, but the inning looked bleak when
Tanner Tweedt struck out swinging for the second out. SEMO intentionally walked Tatrow to get to Miesse, and just as he did against Oklahoma earlier in the week, the freshman delivered. Miesse launched a high-arcing home run to left field to walk off with the grand slam. Miesse rounded the bases and was mobbed at home by his teammates in celebration.
How It Happened - Game 2
- After all the heroics, it was back to work in game two to try to win the series.
Austin Glaze got the ball and went three scoreless innings to get the game started. Each team had just one hit through a scoreless first three innings, but SEMO was back at it in the fourth.
- The Redhawks put two on with one out, forcing Glaze out of the game and bringing in
Zach Smith. SEMO ripped a pair of run-scoring singles, and led 2-0 going to the home fourth of the nine-inning finale.
- Smith held down to the fort to get it to the home fifth, where ACU would crack the scoreboard. After a walk and a hit-by-pitch along with a couple wild pitches, the 'Cats had runners at second and third with one down for Williams. The junior hit one down the line at third and beat it out for an infield hit, allowing Miesse to come in and score. ACU trailed 2-1 after five.
- Southeast Missouri would put pressure on Smith, scoring another run on a single, forcing
Max Huffling into the game. His first batter laid down a perfect squeeze bunt to plate another run, and the visitors led 4-1 heading to the bottom of the sixth.
- Fast-forward to the home seventh, and ACU was trying to chip into the deficit. The Wildcats opened the inning with a pair of singles from
Crew Parke and
Bash Randle, and after a strikeout, Ladusau was hit by a pitch for the third time Sunday. It loaded the bases for Britt, who grounded into a fielder's choice, forcing the out at second, but scoring Parke. ACU trailed 4-2. Then
Tanner Tweedt had his biggest at-bat of the day.
- The senior catcher delivered with a single into left center field to score a pair of runs, tying the game at 4-4, and delivering on the theme of high-drama. We went to the eighth in a tie game.
- Huffling was still dealing on the bump, and after a leadoff baserunner and a sacrifice bunt, the defense made a play. There was a ground ball in the hole at short, and Parke wisely went to third base with it, cutting down the lead runner for the second out. Despite a wild pitch and a passed ball to put a runner at third with two outs, Huffling got a strikeout to get out of it, sending us to the home eighth tied.
- The first two got out in the bottom of the eighth, but the 'Cats rallied. Parke walked and Randle followed with a single to put runners on the corners, then Williams stepped in and delivered the go-ahead rbi-single that just got over the outstretched arms of the Redhawks second baseman to get into right center field. ACU led for the first time in the game. Huffling closed the game with two strikeouts and a foul out in the ninth to win it.
Sunday Stat Pack
- Anderson got the win in game one, tossing the seventh inning, and allowing the one solo homer to go with three strikeouts.
- Huffling got the win in game two, and was excellent in relief. The lefty earned his second win of the week, tossing 3.2 innings of scoreless ball to go with five strikeouts.
- Parke, Randle, Tweedt, and Williams each tallied three hits Sunday, but it was Miesse who led the way with four runs driven in. Miesse reached base four times with two hits and a pair of walks.
- Boggan went 5.0 scoreless innings in game one, allowing no runs on just one hit with five punch outs.
-
Luke Krkovski threw an inning of scoreless baseball in game two, allowing no hits in the process.
- From the fifth inning on in the two games combined, ACU outscored SEMO, 12-3. The 'Cats were outscored 5-0 in the first four innings of each game combined.
- ACU takes the first-ever series with the Redhawks despite being outscored 31-17 in the series.
Beyond the Box Score
- Miesse's homer was the first of his career, and the freshman has now delivered with walk-off hits in two games this week. He beat Oklahoma with a walk-off single in the 10th inning at Globe Life Field on Tuesday night.
- ACU went 4-1 this week against the reigning Big 12 (Oklahoma) and reigning Ohio Valley Conference (SEMO) champions from last season.
- The 'Cats are 6-2 at home this season, winning both series 3-1 (Nevada and SEMO).
- The Wildcats' 7-2 record through nine games is the best start in the
Rick McCarty era, andt the best start to a season since the 10-1 record through the first 11 games of the 2018 campaign.
On Deck
- ACU's 12-game home stand continues next weekend with a four-game series against former Southland Conference for Houston Christian. It's a single game on Friday (6:05 p.m.), a doubleheader on Saturday (1:05 & 4:05 p.m.), and a single game on Sunday (1:05 p.m.). The games on Friday and Saturday will air on ESPN+, while Sunday's finale will air on WAC International.
#ATO | #GoWildcats
