ACU and CBU open WAC Tournament on Tuesday

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Game Notes  |  Watch  |  Live Stats  |  Tickets  |  Tournament Central

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MESA, Ariz. – The postseason is here. Abilene Christian makes its way to Mesa, Ariz. for the 2023 University Credit Union WAC Baseball Tournament at Hohokam Stadium, and the No. 5 seeded Wildcats will open the tournament with a first-round matchup against the No. 8 seed California Baptist. ACU won the finale of the weekend at Seattle U, and immediately traveled south to the desert for the postseason. ACU looks to capture the same magic it had last May when it made a run all the way to the tournament title game, but have CBU in its way first. If ACU advances, it will take on #2 Sam Houston on Wednesday. RHP Breck Eichelberger will get the ball for the Wildcats on Tuesday afternoon at 3 p.m. CT (1 p.m. PT) on ESPN+.


GAME #56
#5 ACU (33-22, 16-14 WAC) vs. #8 CALIFORNIA BAPTIST (28-28, 15-15 WAC)
Tuesday, May 23  |  3 p.m. CT (1 p.m. PT)  |  Hohokam Stadium (10,500)
Projected Starters: RHP Breck Eichelberger (5-2, 4.52 ERA) vs. RHP Liam Rocha (6-0, 3.05 ERA)
Watch: ESPN+, ESPN app
Live Stats  |  Tickets


A LOOK AT ACU
The Wildcats enter the tournament with a 33-22 record and a 16-14 mark in WAC play. ACU dropped its series at Seattle U to close the regular season, but salvaged a 6-3 win in the finale to go into the postseason on a high note. The 'Cats had tremendous success last season in the WAC Tournament, going 4-2 in Mesa and losing in the championship game to NM State. ACU enters as the #5 seed and will look to advance to play #2 Sam Houston in the second round on Wednesday.


SCOUTING CALIFORNIA BAPTIST
The Lancers enter the tournament with a 28-28 record and a 15-15 mark in WAC play. CBU is on a five-game skid heading into the postseason including finishing up on the wrong end of sweep at Grand Canyon, allowing GCU to win the regular season title and capture the top seed in the tournament. Garrett Ostrander leads the team in average at .361, while Dustin Garcia is the home run leader with 19 and RBI with 53.


INSIDE THE SERIES
All-Time: 4th meeting (CBU leads, 2-1)
ACU at Home: n/a
ACU on the Road: CBU leads, 2-1
ACU at Neutral Site: n/a
Series Start: 2023
Last Meeting: CBU 10, ACU 5 (4/30/23 - Riverside, Calif.)
Last ACU Win: ACU 5, CBU 4 (10) (4/29/23 - Riverside, Calif.)
Last ACU Loss: CBU 10, ACU 5 (4/30/23 - Riverside, Calif.)
Last ACU Road Win: ACU 5, CBU 4 (10) (4/29/23)
Last ACU Road Loss: CBU 10, ACU 5 (4/30/23)
Last ACU Series Win: n/a
Last ACU Home Series Win: n/a
Last ACU Home Sweep: n/a
Last ACU Home Series Loss: n/a
Last Time ACU Was Swept in Home Series: n/a
Last ACU Road Series Win: n/a
Last ACU Road Sweep: n/a
Last ACU Road Series Loss: 2023 (1-2)
Last Time ACU Was Swept in Road Series: n/a
Current Streak: L1
McCarty (at ACU) vs. CBU: 1-2


RECORD WATCH
Individual Career Records
· #1: Grayson Tatrow - .640 slugging percentage (D1 only)
· #1: Grayson Tatrow - 176 runs scored (D1 only)
· #1: Grayson Tatrow - 50 home runs (All-time)
· #1: Grayson Tatrow - 176 runs batted in (D1 only)
· #1: Grayson Tatrow - 405 total bases (D1 only)
· #1: Grayson Tatrow - 111 walks (D1 only)
· #1: Tyler Morgan - 252 strikeouts (D1 only)
· #1: Max Huffling - 14 wins (D1 only)
· #2: Tyler Morgan - 231.1 innings pitched (D1 only)
Individual Season Records
· #1: Grayson Tatrow - .804 slugging percentage (D1 only)
· #1: Grayson Tatrow - 156 total bases (D1 only)
· #1: Grayson Tatrow - 23 home runs (All-time)
· #1: Tyler Morgan - 92 strikeouts (D1 only)
· #2: Logan Britt - 31 stolen bases (All-time)
· #2: Grayson Tatrow - 60 runs scored (D1 only)
· #2: Grayson Tatrow - 64 runs batted in (D1 only)
· #3: Logan Britt - 5 triples (D1 only)


THE FIFTH INNING
ACU is outscoring its opponents by an insane margin of 61-26 in the fifth inning this season. Of ACU's 63 home runs this season, 10 of them have occurred in the fifth inning, the second most in any inning this season (12 in the sixth).


HOME RUN BREAKDOWN
ACU has hit 63 home runs this season, led by Tatrow's 23, Britt's 12, and Tweedt's 10. Of the 63, 38 are solo shots and 15 are two-run homers. 26 have come with no one out in the inning, and another 22 have come with two outs. 41 have come off right-handers, while 22 have come off south paws. Tatrow has three multi-homer games this season, while Tweedt and Britt have one as well. Tatrow has hit 11 of ACU's last 18 homers.


AN EYE ON THE STREAKS
Grayson Tatrow leads ACU with a career-long 16-game hitting streak, while Logan Britt has a hit in seven consecutive games. Tatrow currently has reached base safely in 18 straight games, while Britt has been on base in 13 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 132 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.