ABILENE – Abilene Christian continued its strong start to the season, securing a 3-1 victory over Prairie View A&M on Thursday night at Crutcher Scott Field. The Wildcats improved to 9-5, leaning on a dominant pitching performance from starter Dominick Reid and timely contributions at the plate.
Reid was nothing short of electric, striking out 15 batters over eight innings while allowing just one run on three hits. The right-hander settled in after surrendering a solo home run in the second inning, keeping the Panthers off the scoreboard the rest of the way.
Freshman closer Brady Coe slammed the door in the ninth, striking out two of the three batters he faced to secure his fourth save of the year. The ACU pitching staff combined for 17 strikeouts on the night, stifling Prairie View A&M's offense from start to finish.
While the Wildcats' bats weren't overwhelming, they made the most of their opportunities. ACU immediately responded to the Panthers' early lead, tying the game at 1-1 in the bottom of the second when Braden Regala roped a single to left-center, bringing home Louis Bussard. The Wildcats capitalized on another scoring chance in the third. Diego Cardenas worked a walk, advanced on a double by Grant Watkins, and eventually scored on a sacrifice fly from Zandt Payne to give ACU a 2-1 edge.
ACU added an insurance run in the sixth inning when Benjamin Greer delivered a two-out double, setting the table for Regala to drive him in with his second RBI of the night.
Defensively, the Wildcats played a clean game, committing no errors and executing a key double play in the eighth inning to erase a Prairie View A&M baserunner. The Wildcats also flashed their speed on the basepaths, swiping two stolen bases, with Regala and Greer each recording one.
The Wildcats will be back in action for the second game of the series on Saturday. Game two will now start at 2:05 p.m. (CT). Make sure to stay up to date with changes on acusports.com.
