ACU Uses Early Lead to Beat UTA for First Conference Victory

Saturday, March 21

Abilene

12 p.m.

Abilene Christian

4-26, 1-2

UT Arlington

13-15, 2-1

UT Arlington

Abilene Christian

Erianna Garcia reacts after reaching second base against South Dakota State on Feb. 11, 2026

Photo by: Kaylee Kahn

ACU Uses Early Lead to Beat UTA for First Conference Victory

3/21/2026 2:59:00 PM | Softball

Box Score

By: Evan Nemec

ABILENE, Texas — The Abilene Christian softball team scored first and pounded out six extra-base hits to defeat UT Arlington 7-2 for the Wildcats' first WAC win of the season on a blistering Saturday afternoon at Poly Wells Field.

ACU smacked three doubles, two triples, and a solo home run in a nine-hit performance. This marks the fourth consecutive game the Wildcats have scored at least six runs.

Up 2-0 in the third inning and the bases loaded, head coach Jo Koons went with transfer catcher Erianna Garcia to pinch hit. The only problem was -- Garcia wasn't in the dugout. Scrambling out of the Wildcat bullpen, Garcia watched two balls go by and then hit a blooper which dropped a few feet in fair territory down the right field line. The 2-RBI double was the spark that fueled the Wildcats the rest of the day.

"Definitely a momentum shift," said Koons. "She handled [pinch hitting] like a champ. I was super proud of her. I talked to her before the at-bat, 'Just breathe, do a job here,' and she had a great pinch hit at-bat Friday, too. You can't teach experience."

Ciana Arguijo led-off the game with a triple over the centerfielder head, and then ran home on an Ari Maxwell double. A throwing error by UTA allowed Maxwell to score on the next at-bat, and ACU led 2-0. It was just the fifth time this season the Wildcats have scored first.

In the fourth inning, Elizabeth Schaefer tripled to bring home Emalee Romero, and a sacrifice fly from Alaina Hampton brought Schaefer home, increasing the lead to 6–0.

Arguijo then hit her first college home run with a shot to right field, sending her teammates sprinting out of the dugout and to home plate to greet her with unmatched enthusiasm.

"What a moment for her early in her career," said Koons. "I don't even think she realized it was gone. I knew it was gone off the bat, but to see her face and the joy of her teammates, that's the best part, right? You do all of this to get to see them experience, the joy for one another is awesome."

Lindsey Oliver started in the circle with two strikeouts and just one hit in 2.0 scoreless innings. ACU then passed the ball to Ella Beeman who navigated the third, fourth and fifth innings, giving up the Mavericks' only scoring -- a 2-run home run in the sixth. Leah Meyer closed the game with a strong 2.0 innings with no hits allowed, and escaped a bases-loaded jam in the bottom of the seventh by inducing a flyout to end the game.

Arguijo went 2/4 at the plate, pushing her streak to four straight multi-hit games. Schaefer also went 2/4 with the RBI triple and scored twice.

The Wildcats picked up where they left off in 2025 by winning the series finale. ACU was 6-2 in game three of their WAC series last season.

UP NEXT

ACU squares off against North Texas on Wednesday evening at 6 p.m. in Denton. The Wildcats are off from conference competition until a three-game set at Tarleton State on April 3-4.