ABILENE -
Reese Borho played the hero in Abilene Christian baseball's Sunday rubber match with Tarleton State, hitting a walk-off single to power the Wildcats to a 12-11 win at Crutcher Scott Field at Bullock Brothers Ballpark. ACU improved to 13-8 in Western Athletic Conference play, tying Grand Canyon for second in the league standings.
The roller coaster of a game saw the Wildcats build a 10-1 lead before the Texans answered with a seven-run ninth inning to tie things at 11. Both teams rotated through 17 total pitchers and combined for 24 hits in ACU's final home game of the season.
Henry Cone took home the win after facing just one batter, registering a strikeout to end the top of the ninth. Andrew Hardin was saddled with the loss after putting aboard the winning run by walking
Zandt Payne to lead off the bottom of the ninth. Hardin was one of four pitchers to enter the game and not record an out.
Five Wildcats recorded two hits apiece, with
Nick Arias leading the way with four runs batted in. Payne scored three runs and
Benjamin Greer collected two extra-base hits.
Rayner Heinrich and Sergio Guerra knocked in three runs each for the Texans, with Guerra hitting two long balls. Lane Brewster tallied three hits, including a game-tying two-run homer in the top of the ninth.
The Wildcats wasted little time reaching the scoreboard, as Payne drew a leadoff walk before Greer blasted his fourth home run of the season.
Diego Cardenas followed with a double and later came home on Borho's sacrifice fly for an early 3-0 lead.
Tyson Drake's third-inning RBI double plated a run for Tarleton State, but ACU responded in the fourth behind a trio of RBI doubles by Arias,
Braden Regala and Greer. The Wildcats put up four runs in the fifth inning with a pair of two-run doubles from Arias and Cardenas.
The Texans cut into their 10-1 deficit with a three-run seventh inning, beginning with a leadoff solo shot by Guerra. Ike Shirey added an RBI triple and came home on Drake's sacrifice fly. Arias' bases-loaded walk in the eighth frame plated a critical insurance run for ACU before Tarleton State's offensive explosion.
Trailing 11-4, the Texans' first two batters drew walks before Heinrich brought them home with a three-run blast, his third homer of the weekend. Tarleton State then launched a pair of two-out, two-run shots to level the score at 11. After an error prolonged the inning, Guerra and Brewster went deep to create a brand new game.
The Wildcats didn't blink, as their first three batters reached base to begin the home half of the ninth thanks to two walks and a hit batter. With one out, Borho knocked a 2-2 offering to left-center field to score the winning run and secure the series win for ACU.
ACU will travel to Lubbock on Tuesday afternoon for its final nonconference game of the season versus Texas Tech. First pitch at Dan Law Field at Rip Griffin Park is scheduled for 2 p.m. and can be streamed on
ESPN+.
