ABILENE – The ACU baseball team takes on a top 25 opponent for the first time in the 2023 season when it hosts #25 TCU on Tuesday night. The Wildcats are off to a 23-8 start, and are looking to build another winning streak after taking the finale against Sam Houston on Easter Sunday. It's the second meeting of the season against the Horned Frogs; ACU dropped a 7-0 game at TCU on March 21. Tuesday night opens a four-game home stand this week, and it gets underway at 6:05 p.m. and will air on ESPN+.
GAME #32
ACU (23-8, 8-4 WAC) vs. #25 TCU (20-12, 7-5 BIG 12)
Tuesday, April 11 | 6:05 p.m. | Crutcher Scott Field (4,000)
Projected Starters: RHP
Blake Anderson (4-1, 5.63 ERA) vs. LHP Braeden Sloan (2-2, 6.29 ERA)
Watch: ESPN+
Live Stats |
Tickets
A LOOK AT ACU
The Wildcats enter the week with a 23-8 record and an 8-4 mark in WAC play. It was a wild week for the 'Cats as the team had multiple games moved or postponed due to bad weather. ACU never played Texas Tech on Tuesday; that game has been rescheduled for May 9. The Wildcats then were supposed to play three games spanning from Thursday through Saturday at Sam Houston, but it turned into a doubleheader on Saturday and a single game on Easter Sunday. ACU went 1-2 for the weekend, falling 5-1 and 4-3 before taking the finale 8-7. ACU opens a four-game home stand on Tuesday night and it ends with a three-game weekend set against Grand Canyon.
SCOUTING #25 TCU
TCU is playing its best baseball of the season, winning 10 of its last 13 games entering the week. The Horned Frogs dropped the opener to Oklahoma State last Thursday, but bounced with a two straight wins to claim the series, outscoring the Cowboys 19-8 in those two games. TCU is back in the top 25 after claiming its 20th win of the season. TCU will take a brief break to come to Abilene, but return right back to Fort Worth for the next four, starting this weekend against UNC Wilmington. Anthony Silva paces the offense with a .367 batting average, while preseason Big 12 Player of the Year Brayden Taylor leads the club with 10 homers. Seven players have at least 20 RBI led by the 29 from Cole Fontenelle.
INSIDE THE SERIES
All-Time Series: 13th meeting (TCU leads, 10-2)
Last Meeting: TCU 7, ACU 0 (March 21, 2023 - Fort Worth)
Streak: TCU, w1
In Abilene: TCU leads, 5-0
In Fort Worth: TCU leads, 5-2
Neutral site: n/a
Postseason: n/a
HISTORIC START
ACU's 23 wins through the first 31 games are the most since the 2007 season. That team also started the season 23-8 and finished 47-13 with a trip to the Lone Star Conference championship game. This is ACU's best start in the Division I era of the program, which began for baseball in the spring of 2014. ACU had also won the first seven series to start the year before dropping two-of-three to Sam Houston, accomplishing something that has not happened since the 2000 campaign.
A WEEKEND IN HUNTSVILLE
ACU was limited to just three hits and one run in the 5-1 defeat to Sam Houston in Saturday's series opener. It looked like the Wildcats would bounce back well in the back-half of the twin bill, but Sam Houston had different plans. ACU took a 3-1 lead into the bottom of ninth, but a home run and a double allowed the Bearkats to walk off to take the series. The Wildcats finally broke through with eight runs on 11 hits on Sunday and held on for an 8-7 victory. The 'Cats built up a 7-0 lead through 2.5 innings and ultimately held on in the end.
LAST WEEKEND'S NUMBERS
ACU hit .206 as a team over the weekend against Sam Houston, with
Logan Britt leading the way with a .364 average. The 'Cats hit four homers in three games, all solo blasts, and all by different players. Britt,
Bash Randle,
Tanner Tweedt, and
Crew Parke all left the Don Sanders Stadium, and Randle led the way with a .700 slugging percentage over the weekend.
Adam Stephenson dazzled on the mound once again, throwing six innings allowing one run on five hits with seven strikeouts.
Drake Boggan also only allowed one run in the three innings he throw over the weekend.
Luke Krkovski and
Breck Eichelberger each threw two scoreless frames over the weekend.
LATE-INNING HEROICS
Maddox Miesse has had a flare fo the dramatic so far during his freshman campaign. The third baseman hit a walk-off single to beat Oklahoma, hit a walk-off grand slam to top Southeast Missouri, and just closed the weekend with a walk-off against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi this past Sunday. The freshman has been huge so far for ACU and has been a big part of a team that is outscoring its opponents 82-61 from the sixth inning on this season.
AN EYE ON THE STREAKS
Britt leads the way with a six-game hitting streak, while
Garrett Williams has a team-best 18-game on-base streak going. Britt has reached base safely in 10 games in a row now, while
Eric Martin has a nine-game on-base streak going.
TEAM LEADERS
Williams leads the 'Cats with a .373 batting average, and six guys in total are at or above .300 for the season, including Tatrow (.355), Britt (.339), and Miesse (.316). Tatrow paces the offense with nine home runs and 39 runs batted in. Eichelberger's 3.12 earned run average in seven starts leads the pitching staff, while
Tyler Morgan's 56 strikeouts leads the staff.
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.
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. 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 14 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).
THE COACH
Head Coach
Rick McCarty is in his fifth season as the head man at ACU, and earned his 100th career win on Opening Day. He sits at 122 career victories in his time at ACU, which includes a regular-season championship and a runner-up finish at the tournament.
