ABILENE - Abilene Christian softball starts its weekend slate of games Thursday with a long-awaited non-conference contest vs. 16th-ranked Baylor followed by a three-game series at UT Arlington.
The Wildcats and Bears meet at Poly Wells Field with the first pitch on ESPN+ set for 3 p.m. This is first meeting between schools since the pandemic-shortened season of 2020. It also marks the Bears' fifth trip to the Key City since the 2016 campaign.
ACU is 6-8 at home in 2023 following a tough series loss vs. Tarleton. The Wildcats' cruised past the Texans, 11-1, in game one but experienced late-inning troubles in games two (L, 5-7) and three (L, 5-14).
With
Catrin Hoffman and
Avery Miloch each hitting .500 vs. Tarleton, the Wildcats bat .325 as a team and averaged 7.0 runs per game while slugging a solid .623. Miloch blasted two home runs and was responsible for 10 of the Wildcats' 21 runs (four runs, six RBI), while Hoffman counted four doubles among her five hits.
ACU's offense also ripped a pair of triples, drew 14 walks and were successful on all four of its stolen-base attempts.
Talia Nielsen won the series lid-lifter Friday afternoon, tossing 74 pitches through 5.0 innings of work. She also struck out two, walked none, and scattered five hits among the 20 batters she faced as Tarleton went 0-for-6 with runners on base.
Nielsen and ACU now catch the Bears in the midst of a six-game winning streak, which began two weeks ago with a series win over Kansas. Baylor also recently defeated No. 4 Tennessee twice in Knoxville, and edged the Rain' Cajuns of Louisiana Tuesday night in Waco, 2-1.
Dariana Orme - a 13-game winner for the Bears this spring - scattered four hits and whiffed four Louisiana batters as Baylor improved to 31-9. Sydney Collazos put the Bears on the board with a third-inning RBI single, and Emily Hott cranked a solo shot in the fourth for the eventual game-winner.
Baylor is hitting .298 as a team with five regulars all hitting above .300.
Shaylon Govan is the Bears' leading hitter with a .396 batting average. She also paces her club with seven home runs and 39 RBI.
The Bears' average additionally is 104 percentage points above their opponents (.194) as Orme and fellow ace RyLee Crandall have combined for 24 wins, 14 complete games, seven shutouts, and 174 strikeouts.
Orme's 0.98 ERA is the 12th lowest in the NCAA and her six shutouts rank her seventh among all collegiate pitchers.
UT Arlington has won its last two WAC weekend series to even its conference record at 6-6. After being swept on the road by California Baptist March 24-25, the Mavericks beat North Texas at home, 3-2, followed by two wins over Utah Tech. UTA then took two-of-three in Nacogdoches from Stephen F. Austin before falling 6-0 Wednesday night at No. 3 Oklahoma State.
Marley Neises is the Mavericks' leading hitter at .354, while Sophie Wideman and Lindsey Frankling share the team lead with five home runs.
Jessica Adams, Gracie Bumpurs and Tanya Waiters are the Mavs' three-woman pitching rotation. Adams leads her teammates in most categories, including nine wins, 2.11 ERA and 47K.
UTA is 6-4 vs. the Wildcats dating back to 2014.
