ABILENE - Abilene Christian softball, which swept a three-game series from Southern Utah during its most recent homestand, returns to Poly Wells Field for a trio of WAC tests vs. its longtime adversaries from Tarleton.
The Wildcats and Texans play twice Friday on ESPN+ for Military Appreciation Day, which begins at 3 p.m. Saturday's 1 p.m. game - promoted as
She Can Be Day - will be streamed via ACU's WACInternational.TV page.
"We're excited to have Tarleton coming here," said ACU head coach
Abigail Farler. "Our program is very familiar with them (eight meetings since 2021) and their outstanding senior lefty Tristan Bridges. I know they'll give us a great matchup, and I think these games will come down to whoever is able to make faster adjustments. Our team needs play together, for one another, and that means to be clutch in the moment whether on offense or defense."
ACU comes into this weekend on a three-game skid after a frustrating series at Utah Valley. The Wildcats were in position to win all three games, but it was the Wolverines who ultimately prevailed in crunch time as ACU left 23 runners on base and allowed 13 runs after the fifth inning.
On a positive note, the Wildcats accumulated 24 hits in Orem, nine of which went for extra bases. They also drew nine walks (plus one HBP) and made only one defensive error through 80 chances.
There were some outstanding moments from within the circle, as well.
Talia Nielsen delivered a quality start in game one, throwing only 71 pitches in a 4-3 loss. Then in game two graduate student Laurén Schiek allowed the Wildcats to come back from an early 3-0 deficit by retiring the first 12 batters she faced between the first and fourth innings.
Riley White started game three for her first appearance since March 22 and retired seven straight batters before the Wolverines touched her for two runs and four hits in the fourth.
"We had lots of hits and base runners at UVU, but did very little in the clutch," said Farler. "We really struggled to get those timely hits and didn't capitalize when we found ourselves in good positions.
"Situational hitting has been our focus a lot of this week in practice, and we all have to understand that if there's a runner at second base, we don't always need to hit a home run. Sometimes we just need a single through the infield. A lot of UVU's success was because they strung together base hits. Now we need to do the same."
Freshman infielder
Sammie Shelander had the Wildcats' best offensive series vs. the Wolverines, going 5-for-8 with a run, RBI, triple and a double in all three games, lifting her season total to seven. Overall, she reached base eight times out of 11 plate appearances as the Wildcats now rank third in the WAC with a .352 on-base percentage.
Shelander's efforts in Orem additionally raised her season batting average to a team-leading .326, earning the praise of her coaches.
"She's been seeing the ball really well and going with the pitches," said Farler. "We're excited to see her start reaching her potential through all the hard work she puts in outside of practice. She's a real coachable kid with Jess (
Jessica Twaddle) helping her with her swing, and coaches (Katy) Reeves and (Calie) Burris providing the defensive reps."
Playing at first base last weekend, Shelander converted all 15 of her defensive chances and even snagged at couple of run-saving line drives.
Tarleton comes to Abilene with an overall record of 20-20 and 4-5 mark vs. the WAC following last weekend's series loss to California Baptist and a 4-2 defeat Tuesday at North Texas.
Katy Schaefer leads the Texans' offense with a .374 batting average, four home runs and 26 RBI, while Grace Garcia is Tarleton's top pitcher with a 3.42 ERA, 10 wins and 75 strikeouts.
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