Friday, February 27
Cleburne, Texas
6 p.m.
Abilene Christian
5-4
4
vs
5
Texas State
7-2
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Texas State
1
0
2
0
0
2
0
0
0
5
9
0
Abilene Christian
0
0
0
0
1
0
1
0
2
4
7
3
Photo by: Kaylee Kahn
Watkins Goes Deep Twice in ACU's Loss to Texas State
2/27/2026 11:17:00 PM | Baseball
CLEBURNE, Texas - Grant Watkins blasted a pair of home runs as Abilene Christian baseball dropped a 5-4 decision to Texas State in the College Baseball Series at La Moderna Field on Friday night. ACU's ninth-inning rally fell short as Watkins retook the Wildcats' lead in long balls with five this season.
ACU looks to return to the win column at 2 p.m. Saturday when it takes on reigning Big East Conference champion Creighton at La Moderna Field. Aidan Coleman is slated to start on the mound for the Wildcats.
Watkins recorded ACU's first hit of the ballgame in the fifth inning, cutting into a 3-0 deficit with a leadoff solo homer. He catalyzed the Wildcats' offensive again in the bottom of the seventh with another solo shot to get ACU within three runs at 5-2.
The Wildcats engineered a comeback bid in the final frame, beginning with a Watkins walk. He came home on Ryan Jones' RBI single before ACU's season hit leader, Zandt Payne, singled to plate another run and make it 5-4. It was as close as the Wildcats got, as the Bobcats picked up the final two outs to leave the bases loaded.
Watkins and Payne each recorded a pair of hits, while Jones and Sam Hardcastle both stretched their hit streaks to four games. Watkins scored three times.
Evan Whiteaker offered another extended relief outing, logging the final four innings with seven strikeouts. Caden Greanead struck out the only batter he faced.
ACU looks to return to the win column at 2 p.m. Saturday when it takes on reigning Big East Conference champion Creighton at La Moderna Field. Aidan Coleman is slated to start on the mound for the Wildcats.
Watkins recorded ACU's first hit of the ballgame in the fifth inning, cutting into a 3-0 deficit with a leadoff solo homer. He catalyzed the Wildcats' offensive again in the bottom of the seventh with another solo shot to get ACU within three runs at 5-2.
The Wildcats engineered a comeback bid in the final frame, beginning with a Watkins walk. He came home on Ryan Jones' RBI single before ACU's season hit leader, Zandt Payne, singled to plate another run and make it 5-4. It was as close as the Wildcats got, as the Bobcats picked up the final two outs to leave the bases loaded.
Watkins and Payne each recorded a pair of hits, while Jones and Sam Hardcastle both stretched their hit streaks to four games. Watkins scored three times.
Evan Whiteaker offered another extended relief outing, logging the final four innings with seven strikeouts. Caden Greanead struck out the only batter he faced.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: K. Froehlich (2-0)
L: Lanman, Brett (0-2)
S: W. Cooper (2)
Batting:
2B: J. Cotton 1 ; R. Galloway 2
RBI: J. Cotton 2 ; R. Galloway 1 ; J. Stewart 1
Base Running:
RUNS: J. Cotton 2 ; R. Galloway 1 ; C. Mora 1 ; B. Boles 1
SB: J. Cotton 2 ; C. Mora 2 ; B. Boles 1
CS: R. Galloway 1 ; D. Park 1
HBP: J. Cotton 1
Batting:
HR: Watkins, Grant 2
RBI: Payne, Zandt 1 ; Watkins, Grant 2 ; Jones, Ryan 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Watkins, Grant 3 ; Ladusau, Brady 1
HBP: Ladusau, Brady 1 ; Jones, Ryan 1
Game Leaders
AB
5
R
0
H
2
RBI
1
AB
3
R
3
H
2
RBI
2
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
RHP
/ Baseball
RHP
/ BaseballINF
/ Baseball
INF/OF
/ BaseballINF
/ BaseballINF
/ Baseball
RHP
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