Photo by: Aly Bayliss
Tuesday night showdown pits ACU against #14 Texas Tech
4/24/2023 3:00:00 PM | Baseball
Game Notes | Watch | Live Stats | Tickets
ABILENE – Abilene Christian returns to the friendly confines of Crutcher Scott Field on Tuesday night for a showdown with the No. 14 Red Raiders of Texas Tech. The Wildcats (25-14) are in the midst of seven-of-eight on the road, and are at home for the lone game at The Crutch at 6:05 p.m. It's the first of two meetings this season with Texas Tech (29-13), with the second matchup coming May 9 in Lubbock. The game will air on ESPN+.
GAME #40
ACU (25-14, 10-8 WAC) vs. #14 TEXAS TECH (29-13, 8-7 BIG 12)
Tuesday, April 25 | 6:05 p.m. | Crutcher Scott Field (4,000)
Projected Starters: LHP Max Huffling (3-1, 4.13 ERA) vs. RHP Zane Petty (2-0, 5.02 ERA)
Watch: ESPN+
Live Stats | Tickets
A LOOK AT ACU
The Wildcats enter the week with a 25-14 record and a 10-8 mark in WAC play. ACU has dropped eight of its last 11 games including a 1-3 record on the road last week. The Wildcats lost at #14 Texas, 20-0, before dropping two of three at UTRGV over the Weekend. ACU won the Friday night game, 4-2, before dropping both games as part of a Saturday doubleheader. The Vaqueros beat the Wildcats 8-4 in game two and beat ACU 2-1 in 10 innings in the rubber match.
SCOUTING #14 TEXAS TECH
Texas Tech enters the week with a 29-13 record and an 8-7 mark in Big 12 play. The Red Raiders have won seven of their last 10 games including a 4-1 week last time out. Tech won both games against Grand Canyon before taking the first two of the series against Baylor. The Bears won the finale on Saturday, 6-4, to snap Tech's second-longest winning streak of the season (4). Texas Tech opens a four-game road trip this week at ACU, and wraps up in Mankattan, Kan. with a three-gamer at K-State. Tech's offense is hitting .322 for the year, slugging .540, and getting on base at a rate of .427. The Red Raiders have hit 63 home runs and scored 386 runs this season led by Gavin Kash's 20 bomb and 50 runs scored.
INSIDE THE SERIES
All-Time: 10th meeting (TTU leads, 8-1)
ACU at Home: TTU leads, 3-0
ACU on the Road: TTU leads, 3-1
ACU at Neutral Site: TTU leads, 2-0
Series Start: 2014
Last Meeting: #9 TTU 16, ACU 12 (5/3/22 - Abilene)
Last ACU Win: ACU 8, #9 TTU 5 (4/26/22 - Lubbock)
Last ACU Loss: #9 TTU 16, ACU 12 (5/3/22 - Abilene)
Last ACU Road Win: ACU 8, #9 TTU 5 (4/26/22)
Last ACU Road Loss: #5 TTU 6, ACU 5 (16) (3/3/15)
Current Streak: L1
McCarty (at ACU) vs. Texas Tech: 1-1
LAST WEEKEND AT UTRGV
ACU struggled to swing the bats in Edinburg, scoring just nine runs and hitting just .208 for the weekend. The Wildcats scored four in the opener, including a go-ahead triple in the ninth inning from Logan Britt to win it, 4-2. ACU hit three homers in game two of the series, all solo shots from Britt, Grayson Tatrow, and Tanner Tweedt. In the finale, ACU and UTRGV were scoreless heading to the 10th inning, where the 'Cats put the first run of the game on the board. However, the Vaqueros answered with two in the bottom of the 10th to win the game and the series, 2-1.
HISTORY FOR TWEEDT
Catcher Tanner Tweedt had a remarkable game on Apriil 14 against Grand Canyon. The senior hit three home runs and tallied nine RBI in the game, either tying or breaking single-game records at ACU. The three homers tie his teammate Logan Britt, who did so against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on March 31, Luis Treviño in 2019 against New Orleans, and Joel Wells in 2006 against Tarleton. The nine RBI set a record that was previously held by Colton Eager (2021 vs. Arkansas State) and Matt McGuire (2007 vs. Southeast Oklahoma State), who both had eight.
TATROW AT THE TOP
Grayson Tatrow has hit 39 career home runs at ACU and stands alone at the top of the record book. No one has hit more in their career in Wildcat history, and Tatrow is only in the middle of his third season at ACU.
LATE-INNING HEROICS
Maddox Miesse has had a flare for 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 hit a single to walk-off against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on April 2.
THE FIFTH INNING
ACU is outscoring its opponents by an insane margin of 46-6 this season. Of ACU's 44 homers this season, eight of them have occurred in the fifth inning, the second most in any inning this season (nine in the sixth).
HOME RUN BREAKDOWN
ACU has hit 44 home runs this season, led by Tatrow's 12, Britt's 10, and Tweedt's eight. Of the 44, 26 are solo shots and 10 are two-run homers. 19 have come with two outs in the inning, and another 19 have come with no one out. The splits are pretty even off pitchers; 25 have come off right-handers, while 19 have come off south paws.
AN EYE ON THE STREAKS
Garrett Williams leads ACU with a five-game hitting streak and on-base streak, while Maddox Miesse and Logan Britt each have a hit in three straight games. Miesse has reached base in four consecutive games as well.
GAME AT TEXAS TECH RESCHEDULED
ACU's game at Texas Tech was originally scheduled for Tuesday, April 4, but due to bad weather and incredibly high winds that day, the game was postponed. The two teams will now get together in Lubbock on Tuesday, May 9 at 6:30 p.m.
PRESEASON POLL / AWARDS
The Western Athletic Conference announced the preseason poll and the preseason all-conference selections for the season, and the Wildcats are picked tied for fourth in the 13-team league. 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.
D1BASEBALL PRESEASON
D1Baseball released its preseason picks for the Western Athletic Conference, and ACU was picked sixth in the league. It also highlighted the top draft prospects from the conference, 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, the Southland Newcomer of the Year and on the second team in 2021, was labeled #138 in the top 150 outfielders in the country.
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 124 career victories in his time at ACU, which includes a regular-season championship and a runner-up finish at the tournament. McCarty ranks second in all-time wins at ACU.
Follow ACU Baseball on Social Media
Twitter: @ACU_Baseball | @ACUsports
Instagram: @acu_baseball | @acusports
Facebook: /ACUSports
#ATO | #GoWildcats
Twitter: @ACU_Baseball | @ACUsports
Instagram: @acu_baseball | @acusports
Facebook: /ACUSports
#ATO | #GoWildcats
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