ABILENE — ACU could not overcome an early offensive outburst from Texas Tech on Monday night, dropping a 9-2 decision under clear skies at Bullock Brothers Ballpark.
The Wildcats saw the Red Raiders jump out to a three-run lead in the first inning, while ACU's offense was held quiet until the fifth. Despite solid relief work and a late offensive push, the Wildcats couldn't erase the early deficit.
The Red Raiders were able to add two runs apiece in the third, fourth, and fifth frames to build a margin that the Wildcats were unable to close.
ACU's offense showed signs of life in the middle innings, highlighted by a solo home run off the bat of Reese Borho in the fifth — his second of the season. In the sixth, Sam Hardcastle drove an RBI double into the right-field corner to cut into the deficit, but the early damage proved too much for the Wildcats to overcome.
Benjamin Greer provided a strong performance at the plate, collecting two doubles on the night to pace the ACU offense.
On the mound, the Wildcats used a full-staff approach. Starter Iain Campa (2-3) was tagged with the loss after 2.2 innings of work, while the bullpen combined for 6.1 innings of relief. Blaine Palmer, Stetson Callaway, Nolan Foster, and David Jeon each worked scoreless frames to steady the game in the later innings.
ACU and Texas Tech were originally scheduled for a second game in the series on Tuesday, but due to inclement weather, the matchup will be postponed to a later date. Make sure to stay up to date on ACU Baseball and acusports.com.
The Wildcats will hit the road to Seattle to take on Seattle U this weekend in their next conference series. The first pitch on Friday will be at 6:00 p.m. CT.
