ABILENE – Abilene Christian hosts Texas-Rio Grande Valley this weekend, starting a three-game Western Athletic Conference series at 6:05 p.m. on Friday.
UTRGV at ACU | Friday | 6:05 p.m. | Crutcher Scott Field | ESPN+ | Live Stats
UTRGV at ACU | Saturday | 3:05 p.m. | Crutcher Scott Field | ESPN+ | Live Stats
UTRGV at ACU | Sunday | 12:05 p.m. | Crutcher Scott Field | ESPN+ | Live Stats
The Wildcats are 27-18 overall and 14-7 in the WAC while UTRGV is 21-19 and 10-11 in conference.
ACU Storylines
WAC Standings: After sweeping Utah Tech last week on the road, ACU is tied for second in the Western Athletic Conference standings with California Baptist at 14-7. The Cats trail Grand Canyon, next weekend's opponent, by two games.
Ruling the Non-at-bats: The Wildcats lead the WAC with 100 walks, 24 sacrifice bunts
and 35 sacrifice flies. ACU is second in the NCAA in sacrifice flies.
Shutdown: ACU is eighth in the NCAA and first in the WAC with five shutouts this season. The Wildcats had back-to-back shutouts against California Baptist and Tarleton State two weeks ago.
Winner Winner: ACU starters
Iain Campa and
Brett Lanman are tied for the WAC league with six wins apiece.
FreshMan: Freshman lefty
Brett Lanman leads the WAC with 6.63 hits per nine innings and a 1.09 WHIP.
Hitters: The Wildcats have a team batting average of .276, led by
Gino D'Alessio (.377) and
Miller Ladusau (.376), who are second and third in the WAC. Ladusau also is 32nd in the NCAA with 17 doubles.
Driving Force: Gino D'Alessio leads the WAC with 49 runs batted in this season. Seven of those have come from sacrifice flies. He is fifth in the nation with those seven run-scoring fly balls.
Earned ERA: ACU comes into the game with a 5.03 team earned run average. ACU's usual WAC starting rotation is solid with
Brett Lanman at 2.68,
Iain Campa at 3.58
and Austin Glaze at 4.45.
History with UTRGV: The Cats are 8-9 all-time against UT Rio Grande Valley. The teams split four games last season with ACU winning 7-2 in the WAC Tournament.
Scouting UTRGV: The Vaqueros are hitting .288 as a team, led by Steve Lancia at .389. Martin Vazquez has 15 home runs and 44 runs batted in. Zach Tjelmeland comes in with a 4-2 pitching record and a 3.29 ERA. The team's earned run average is 5.33.
