The ACU softball team fights to extend its current 3-game win streak with a conference series at UT Arlington starting Friday night.
Game 1 will start at 6 p.m. Friday, with a doubleheader on Saturday beginning at 12 p.m. at Allen Saxe Field.
Wildcats head coach Jo Koons says what's more important than pushing their winning streak is to earn a series win to stay in the race to the WAC Tournament in May.
"We're still in the conference hunt, and I think that's the big thing. You've got to go into every series thinking you're going to win it. It's reminding [the players] that they're capable of it."
ACU earned its first conference sweep in two years when it won all three games over Southern Utah last weekend. That evened the Wildcats' WAC record at 3-3. UTA comes in with a 17-10 overall mark, and is 4-2 in the league.
Over the last month, the Mavericks sport a 13-3 record, including taking two-of-three games against WAC opponents Utah Tech and Tarleton State.
Reigning WAC Pitcher of the Week
Lina Russo will likely get the ball to start the series for ACU. Russo is coming off a spectacular series versus SUU where she threw 14 straight shutout innings last Friday, including a no-hitter in the opening game. It's the program's first no-hitter since 2020.
Koons, in her first season leading the Wildcats, is making a return trip to UTA where she served as an assistant for the 2023 and 2024 seasons.
"I obviously know a lot of their players and recruits, so it will be nice to see them. This game goes far beyond the pair of white lines we play in."
All three games of the series are scheduled to be
video streamed on ESPN+ (paid subscription required). The next time to catch the Wildcats in Abilene is March 28-29 when they host Utah Tech for a conference set.
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