Postseason positioning on the line in Seattle

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Game Notes  |  Watch  |  Tickets

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GAME #53
ACU (32-20, 15-12 WAC) at SEATTLE U (19-29, 15-12 WAC)
Thursday, May 18  |  6 p.m. CT (4 p.m. PT)  |  Bannerwood Park
Projected Starters: RHP Tyler Morgan (3-4, 5.76 ERA) vs. LHP Peter Chronowski (4-7, 4.31 ERA)
Watch: WAC International
Live Stats  |  Tickets


GAME #54
ACU (32-20, 15-12 WAC) at SEATTLE U (19-29, 15-12 WAC)
Friday, May 19  |  4 p.m. CT (2 p.m. PT)  |  Bannerwood Park
Projected Starters: RHP Breck Eichelberger (5-2, 4.58 ERA) vs. RHP Nestor German (5-5, 5.35 ERA)
Watch: WAC International
Live Stats  |  Tickets


GAME #55
ACU (32-20, 15-12 WAC) at SEATTLE U (19-29, 15-12 WAC)
Saturday, May 20  |  11 a.m. CT (9 a.m. PT)  |  Bannerwood Park
Projected Starters: RHP Austin Glaze (3-1, 6.08 ERA) vs. TBD
Watch: WAC International
Live Stats  |  Tickets


A LOOK AT ACU
The Wildcats enter the week with a 32-20 record and a 15-12 mark in WAC play. ACU is on a three-game winning streak after taking the final two games of the series last weekend against Tarleton and topping UTSA, 10-8, on Tuesday night. ACU sits in a tie for third place with four other teams (Utah Valley, California Baptist, Seattle U, and UT Arlington), and two of those teams will finish in as the No. 3 and No. 4 seed to receive a first-round bye in the upcoming WAC Tournament next week. It's a huge weekend ahead for positioning in the postseason.


SCOUTING SEATTLE U
The Redhawks enter the weekend with a 19-29 record and a 15-12 mark in WAC play. Seattle U is coming off a series win last weekend over Utah Tech, taking the first two of the series before falling in the finale. Like ACU, Seattle U has a chance to claim a coveted top-four seed, and also had a lot on the line in the final weekend of the regular season. The Redhawks hitting .275 as a team led by Cole Kleckner's .342 average. Matt Boissoneault leads the team with 12 home runs  and 39 RBI while Thursday starter Peter Chronowski leads the pitching staff with a 4.31 ERA.


INSIDE THE SERIES
All-Time: 2nd meeting (ACU leads, 1-0)
ACU at Home: n/a
ACU on the Road: n/a
ACU at Neutral Site: ACU leads, 1-0
Series Start: 2022
Last Meeting: ACU 10, Seattle U 3 (5/26/22 - Mesa, Ariz.)
Last ACU Win: ACU 10, Seattle U 3 (5/26/22 - Mesa, Ariz.)
Last ACU Loss: n/a
Last ACU Road Win: n/a
Last ACU Road Loss: n/a
Current Streak: W1
McCarty (at ACU) vs. Seattle U: 1-0


ACU TAKES TWO OF THREE FROM TARLETON
After dropping a pair of games to Texas Tech on Tuesday and falling in the opener on Friday to Tarleton, the Wildcats bounced back with wins on Saturday (8-4) and Sunday (12-1) to secure the series victory. Adam Stephenson gave up a two-run home run in the ninth inning of the opener to lose 7-5, but Tyler Morgan's performance out of the bulllpen catapulted an 8-4 win to even the series on Saturday. Grayson Tatrow's two homers powered a run-rule, 12-1 win on Sunday to take the series, giving ACU its second consecutive weekend win. The Wildcats hit .344 for the weekend and put together a team ERA of 3.96 in three games. ACU scored 25 runs on 32 hits with four homers and 24 runs driven in. ACU outscored Tarleton 13-0 in the middle three innings of the games.


BULLPEN LOCKS DOWN THE TEXANS
The bullpen threw 13.2 innings against Tarleton over the weekend and six pitchers combined for a 1.98 earned run average. ACU's relief pitchers allowed three earned runs on 10 hits with 13 strikeouts to just three walks. Blake Anderson logged 3.1 innings in relief, and the highlight was a 7.0 inning outing from Tyler Morgan on Saturday to log the win. Morgan struck out six and allowed just one earned run. Zach Smith earned his seventh save of the season in the win on Saturday as well.


RECORD WATCH
Individual Career Records
· #1: Grayson Tatrow - .631 slugging percentage (D1 only)
· #1: Grayson Tatrow - 172 runs scored (D1 only)
· #1: Grayson Tatrow - 49 home runs (All-time)
· #1: Grayson Tatrow - 167 runs batted in (D1 only)
· #1: Grayson Tatrow - 398 total bases (D1 only)
· #1: Grayson Tatrow - 109 walks (D1 only)
· #1: Tyler Morgan - 243 strikeouts (D1 only)
· #2: Max Huffling - 13 wins (D1 only)
· #2: Tyler Morgan - 227 innings pitched (D1 only)
Individual Season Records
· #1: Grayson Tatrow - .804 slugging percentage (D1 only)
· T-#1: Grayson Tatrow - 148 total bases (D1 only)
· T-#1: Grayson Tatrow - 22 home runs (All-time)
· #2: Logan Britt - 31 stolen bases (All-time)
· #2: Tyler Morgan - 83 strikeouts (D1 only)
· #3: Grayson Tatrow - 57 runs scored (D1 only)
· #3: Logan Britt - 5 triples (D1 only)
· #3: Grayson Tatrow - 63 runs batted in (D1 only)


THE FIFTH INNING
ACU is outscoring its opponents by an insane margin of 57-22 in the fifth inning this season. Of ACU's 52 home runs this season, nine of them have occurred in the fifth inning, the second most in any inning this season (11 in the sixth). ACU outscored Tarleton 7-0 in the fifth over the weekend.


HOME RUN BREAKDOWN
ACU has hit 59 home runs this season, led by Tatrow's 22, Britt's 12, and Tweedt's 9. Of the 59, 34 are solo shots and 15 are two-run homers. 23 have come with no one out in the inning, and another 22 have come with two outs. 38 have come off right-handers, while 21 have come off south paws. Tatrow has three multi-homer games this season, while Tweedt and Britt have one as well. Tatrow has hit 10 of ACU's last 14 homers.


AN EYE ON THE STREAKS
Miller Ladusau leads ACU with a career-high 14-game hitting streak, while Tatrow has a hit in a career-best 13 straight games. Tatrow has reached base in 15 consecutive games, while Ladusau has reached safely in 14 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 131 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.