NORMAN, Oklahoma — The ACU Wildcats split a doubleheader Sunday at the Oklahoma Tournament, defeating Tulsa in the early afternoon before falling to Wichita State later in the day.
The Wildcats (3-10) ran their winning streak to three straight games with the 5-1 win over Tulsa before a 3-1 loss to Wichita State. ACU will complete its run through the tournament Monday with a doubleheader against Wichita State and second-ranked and four-time defending national champion Oklahoma.
Here's a recap of each of Sunday's games:
• ACU 5, Tulsa 1 – Two ACU pitchers combined to allow just six hits and one unearned run to lead the Wildcats to a win over the Golden Hurricane. Taylor Haywood allowed five hits and no runs while striking out two batters over five innings to pick up the win and improve to 1-1 on the season. Ella Beeman finished the game with two one-hit innings. The ACU offense, meanwhile, scored once in the second, once in the third, and three times in the fifth inning. Valerie Ornelas got the Wildcats on the board in the second inning with a solo home run, and ACU added to the lead in the second when Rachel Cook drove in Taylor Bachmeyer with an RBI single to center field. ACU scored three unearned runs in the fifth inning to close the scoring.
• Wichita State 3, ACU 1 – The Wildcats and Shockers were locked in a pitcher's duel through 3 1/2 innings before Ornelas homered down the left fied line to give ACU a 1-0 lead. Wichita State answered with two runs in the fifth with a two-run home run by Sydney Zenon. ACU threatened to tie the game in the bottom of the fifth, but a deep fly ball off Elizabeth Schaefer's bat was tracked down and caught in deep right field for the final out of the inning. The Shockers tacked on an insurance run in the seventh, and ACU couldn't mount a threat in the bottom of the inning. Lina Russo went the distance on the mound for ACU, allowing six hits and three runs in seven innings of work.
