Wildcats and Trailblazers meet for first time this weekend

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Game Notes  |  Watch  |  Tickets

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ABILENE – The Wildcat baseball team is back at home this weekend for a three-game series against Utah Tech. Abilene Christian (27-16, 11-10 WAC) currently sits in the fifth spot in the conference standings, and with the two teams directly in front of them playing one another this weekend (CBU and UTA), the team has a chance to make up some ground to get to that pivotal top-four spot in the standings; the top four teams at the end of the season get a first-round bye in the WAC Tournament. ACU will meet Utah Tech (11-32, 6-15 WAC) for the first time ever this weekend, with the series getting underway at 6:05 p.m. Friday night. Game two of the series is set for 3:05 p.m. on Saturday, and Sunday's finale is earlier than normal, getting underway at 11:05 a.m. Friday and Saturday will air on ESPN+, while Sunday will air on WAC International.


GAME #44
ACU (27-16, 11-10 WAC) vs. UTAH TECH (11-32, 6-15 WAC)
Friday, May 5 | 6:05 p.m. | Crutcher Scott Field (4,000)
Projected Starters: RHP Tyler Morgan (2-3, 5.76 ERA) vs. RHP Brett Porthan (5-3, 5.61 ERA)
Watch: ESPN+
Live Stats | Tickets


GAME #45
ACU (27-16, 11-10 WAC) vs. UTAH TECH (11-32, 6-15 WAC)
Saturday, May 6 | 3:05 p.m. | Crutcher Scott Field (4,000)
Projected Starters: RHP Breck Eichelberger (4-2, 4.56 ERA) vs. LHP Carston Herman (2-5, 8.85 ERA)
Watch: ESPN+
Live Stats | Tickets


GAME #42
ACU (27-16, 11-10 WAC) vs. UTAH TECH (11-32, 6-15 WAC)
Sunday, May 7 | 11:05 a.m. | Crutcher Scott Field (4,000)
Projected Starters: RHP Austin Glaze (2-1, 6.80 ERA) vs. RHP Dakoda West (1-1, 6.51 ERA)
Watch: WAC International
Live Stats | Tickets

 

A LOOK AT ACU
The Wildcats enter the weekend with a 27-16 record and an 11-10 mark in WAC play. ACU is looking to build off a win on Tuesday over Baylor, and looks for its first three-game weekend series win since March 26 against Sacramento State. The Wildcats are in the midst of a four-game home stand and overall will play seven of the next eight games at Crutcher Scott Field heading to the final three weekends of the regular season.


SCOUTING UTAH TECH
The Trailblazers enter the weekend with an 11-32 overall record and a 6-15 mark in WAC play. Utah Tech heads out on its penultimate road trip of the 2023 season, and wrapped up last week's homestand by taking two of three from in-state rival Utah Valley in the renewal of the "Old Hammer Rivalry" at Bruce Hurst Field. The Trailblazers hit an NCAA Division-I era program high six home runs on their way to a 13-8 series opening win on Friday night. Then after UVU evened the series with a lopsided win in game two on Saturday, Utah Tech closed the weekend with an 8-2 victory in Sunday's finale.


INSIDE THE SERIES
All-Time: First meeting


ACU'S TUESDAY WIN OVER BAYLOR
In a game that featured 17 runs and 22 hits, it was ACU who came out on top to pull off a season sweep of the Baylor Bears for the first time in program history. The teams went back and forth early, but the Wildcats took the lead for good in the bottom of the third inning and ultimately held on by one, 9-8. ACU opens the final month of the season on a high note and takes that momentum into the home weekend coming up against Utah Tech. ACU has its first-ever win over Baylor in Abilene, and 2023 marks the only two wins in the history of the program over the Bears. It was also ACU's first midweek win since the March 28 win in Waco. Tuesday night marked the 12th win all-time over a Power 5 school, including the third this season. Eight of the 12 wins have come with Rick McCarty leading the program.


ACU'S GAMES VS. TEXAS TECH FINALIZED
Details have been finalized for the ACU's games against Texas Tech. The Wildcats and Red Raiders will meet May 9 to finish play of the first game at 4 p.m. and then follow with the originally scheduled game at 6:30 p.m. Both games will take place at Rip Griffin Park in Lubbock. The first game, originally scheduled for April 4 in Lubbock, was rescheduled for May 9 due to high winds and being unable to travel. The two teams were already scheduled to meet on April 25 in Abilene. That game at The Crutch was suspended in the bottom of the fourth inning due to lightning in the area. So now both games will happen in Lubbock on May 9. The teams will resume play at 4 p.m., with ACU being the home team, in the bottom of the fourth inning. ACU will be leading the game, 6-0, and there will be one out and a runner at second base. Once the first game ends, the teams will play the originally scheduled game with ACU being the road team. It's a nine-inning game that is slated to begin at 6:30 p.m., but it will start 30-45 minutes after the first game finishes, treated similarly to a doubleheader.


LAST WEEKEND AT CALIFORNIA BAPTIST
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 nearing the end of his third season at ACU.


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 five-game hitting stream, while Tatrow has a hit in four straight games. Tatrow and Jake Skaggs have each reached base in six consecutive games, while Ladusau has reached safely in five 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 126 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.