LAS CRUCES, N.M. - Abilene Christian softball received the needed help from its WAC opposition, and started Saturday's game with a two-run home run from
Olivia Taylor, but New Mexico State pounced back with runs in each of its first four innings to defeat the Wildcats, 11-2, in the regular-season finale for both teams.
Utah Tech won the WAC's regular-season crown with a 19-5 record and will be the top seed for next week's tournament, which also includes Grand Canyon (17-7), SFA (15-9), Seattle (14-10), Tarleton (13-11), Sam Houston (12-12), UT Arlington (11-13) and Cal Baptist (10-14).
CBU won the tiebreaker over three additional 10-14 schools (ACU, NMSU and Utah Valley) because of its head-to-head win over the UVU Wolverines.
Today's game could not have started better for ACU.
Mercedes Eichelberger doubled a 3-2 pitch to left center field and Taylor followed with her fourth home run of the season.
Sammie Shelander doubled two batters later, but was left stranded as reliever Emily Dix recorded a strike out and fly ball to neutralize the threat.
Dix stranded another two runners in the second inning, worked around a leadoff walk to
Avery Miloch in the third, and retired the side in order in the fourth.
Starter Felicia De La Torre re-entered the game with two outs in the fifth, and after issuing another walk to Miloch, struck Shelander out to end the game.
Emma
Bubba Rote started for ACU and struggled to keep the Aggies off the basepaths, allowing 10 runs (six earned) on nine hits and three walks. The Aggies also benefited from five Wildcat walks and wild pitches plus three errors as they scored once in the first and third frames, and a combined nine runs between the second and fourth innings.
Seven different Aggies had one RBI, while three — Kayla Bowen, Paige Knight and Jaylee Burton — had multi-hit efforts.
Eichelberger's 2-for-3 day at the plate gave her a team-best .336 batting average. Newcomers Rote and Shelander tied for second on the team with a .313 average.
