ACU opens home stand with Baylor Tuesday night

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Game Notes  |  Watch  |  Live Stats  |  Tickets

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ABILENE – Abilene Christian returns to the friendly confines for the first of four games this week and eight of the next nine at Crutcher Scott Field on Tuesday night for a showdown with the Big 12's Baylor Bears. The Wildcats (26-16) are looking to snap a two-game losing streak in midweek games, with their last win coming at Baylor on March 28. The 'Cats open the final month of the season this week and have three midweek games remaining to go with the final three WAC weekends of the year; ACU currently sits in fifth place in the league standings. ACU looks for the season sweep of Baylor at 6:05 p.m. on Tuesday night, and the game will air on ESPN+.


GAME #43
ACU (26-16, 11-10 WAC) vs. BAYLOR (15-29, 6-15 BIG 12)
Tuesday, May 2 | 6:05 p.m. | Crutcher Scott Field (4,000)
Projected Starters: RHP Blake Anderson (4-4, 7.24 ERA) vs. RHP Blake Helton (0-5, 8.72 ERA)
Watch: ESPN+
Live Stats | Tickets


A LOOK AT ACU
The Wildcats enter the week with a 26-16 record and an 11-10 mark in WAC play. ACU has dropped 10 of its last 14 games including a 1-2 record on the road last weekend. The Wildcats lost two of the three games at California Baptist, 7-2 and 10-5, and did the middle game of the series in 10 innings, 5-4. ACU opens up a four-game home stand this week and has eight of its next nine games at Crutcher Scott Field.

 
SCOUTING BAYLOR
Baylor gets set for a pair of midweek contests against Abilene Christian and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi this week before a five-day break for final exams that results in an idle weekend. The Bears are coming off a winless week that saw them remain in competitive ballgames until the late innings. BU trailed 4-2 to Tarleton through seven innings on Tuesday before dropping a 6-2 final. The Bears dropped Friday's opener to No. 17 West Virginia by just one run after leading 4-3 through seven innings. On Saturday, Baylor trailed just 2-0 after seven complete before WVU broke it open. In Sunday's series finale, the Bears were within reach trailing 8-4 in the seventh before the Mountaineers pulled away in the final two frames. Baylor is 14-6 this season when scoring six or more runs and 5-0 when scoring 10 or more runs. BU is also 10-2 this year when leading the ballgame after six innings and 10-3 when out-hitting its opponent.


INSIDE THE SERIES
All-Time: 4th meeting (BU leads, 2-1)
ACU at Home: BU leads, 1-0
ACU on the Road: Tied, 1-1
ACU at Neutral Site: n/a
Series Start: 2019
Last Meeting: ACU 5, BU 2 (11) (3/28/23 - Waco)
Last ACU Win: ACU 5, BU 2 (11) (3/28/23 - Waco)
Last ACU Loss: BU 6, ACU 4 (3/9/22 - Abilene)
Last ACU Road Win: ACU 5, BU 2 (11) (3/28/23 - Waco)
Last ACU Road Loss: BU 6, ACU 3 (3/13/19)
Current Streak: W1
McCarty (at ACU) vs. Baylor: 1-2


ACU'S DRAMATIC WIN IN WACO
The Wildcats led the Bears 2-0 in the ninth, surrendered the lead, and then Grayson Tatrow delivered with a three-run home run in the 11th inning to power a 5-2 victory. It was the first-ever win for ACU over Baylor and the second win over a Big 12 team this season. After a scoreless 10th and Tatrow gave ACU the lead in the 11th, Zach Smith recorded the final three outs for his first-ever save, getting the 'Cats out of Waco with a win.

 
GAME VS. TEXAS TECH SUSPENDED
ACU's home game on April 25 against No. 14 Texas Tech was suspended in the bottom of the fourth inning due to severe weather and lightning in the area. There has been no decision on when the game will resume. The two teams will get together in Lubbock on May 9 for a game that was originally scheduled to be played on April 4. That game is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.

 
LAST WEEKEND AT CBU
ACU once again struggled to swing the bat at California Baptist, hitting just .238 as a team in three games. The 'Cats scored just 12 runs on 24 hits and walked only 7 times compared to 17 strikeouts. The starting pitching struggled, but the bullpen was tremendous. Relief pitchers went 1-0 with a 3.52 earned run average in 15.1 innings over the weekend. The bullpen struck out 24 batters to only eight walks. Adam Stephenson went 4.0 scoreless with five strikeouts, while Sam Berberich struck out a career-high seven in 2.2 scroeless innings. Luke Krkovski (2.1 IP) and Zach Smith (1.1 IP) also had scoreless outings in The Golden State.

 
TATROW'S WEEKEND
Senior Grayson Tatrow was the biggest bright spot for ACU in California, hitting .538 and slugging 1.308 in three games. The Wildcat left fielder launched three home runs and drove in five, all team-bests. Tatrow went yard in the top of the 10th inning to win game two of the series, then tallied his first multi-homer game of the year in the finale.

 
TATROW AT THE TOP
Grayson Tatrow has hit 42 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
Despite being outscored 5-1 in the fifth inning at CBU, ACU is still outscoring its opponents by an insane margin of 47-11 this season. Of ACU's 48 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 48 home runs this season, led by Tatrow's 15, Britt's 10, and Tweedt's eight. Of the 48, 29 are solo shots and 11 are two-run homers. 21 have come with two outs in the inning, and another 19 have come with no one out. The splits are pretty even off pitchers; 29 have come off right-handers, while 19 have come off south paws.
AN EYE ON THE STREAKS
Miller Ladusau leads ACU with a four-game hitting stream, while Tatrow has a hit in three straight games. Tatrow and Jake Skaggs have each reached base in five consecutive games, while Ladusau has reached safely in four in a row.

 
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 125 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.