Tuesday, March 3
Fort Worth, Texas
6 p.m.
Abilene Christian
at
TCU
Photo by: Kaylee Kahn
ACU Battles No. 17 TCU, Hosts Stephen F. Austin in Midweek Matchups
3/3/2026 12:46:00 AM | Baseball
FORT WORTH, Texas - Abilene Christian baseball wraps up its streak of five games in six days with a pair of in-state midweek matchups this week. The Wildcats battle No. 17 TCU at Lupton Stadium at 6 p.m. Tuesday before hosting Stephen F. Austin at Crutcher Scott Field at Bullock Brothers Ballpark at 6 p.m. Wednesday.
Both matchups will be streamed on ESPN+. Logan Young will toe the rubber for the Wildcats versus the Horned Frogs.
ACU has met TCU in all but two seasons since 2015. The Wildcats earned the last win in the series, taking down the Horned Frogs 8-3 in Abilene on April 16, 2024. Maddox Miesse drove in a trio of runs, and Zandt Payne went 3 for 4 and scored twice. Caden Greanead, Blaine Palmer and Cade McGarrh combined for five scoreless innings in relief.
ACU has beaten TCU in Fort Worth twice in the Division I era, doing so in 2022 and 2018.
The Wildcats lead their Division I series with the Lumberjacks, 18-15, having won 15 of the last 18 matchups between the two. Last season, ACU took down Stephen F. Austin 11-2 in Nacogdoches, Texas before suffering a 15-13 loss in Abilene.
ACU returns to action after competing at the College Baseball Series in Cleburne, Texas last weekend. The Wildcats outslugged Creighton for a 12-11 victory, sandwiched by narrow losses to Texas State by 5-4 and 3-0 decisions.
Grant Watkins provided a power surge for the ACU bats, belting four home runs over the weekend with two long balls in each of the first two games of the series. His seven home runs this season lead the Western Athletic Conference and are tied for fourth nationally.
Payne went 6 for 14 at the plate in the three games and drove in four runs. He paces the Wildcats with 15 hits and 14 runs batted in, the latter of which is tied for second-most in the conference.
Freshman Baron Mannis continued to impress on the mound, logging four scoreless frames out of the bullpen in ACU's Sunday matchup with Texas State. The Wildcats held the Bobcats scoreless for the game's final eight innings as Mannis allowed just one hit with four strikeouts.
The Argyle, Texas product lowered his ERA to 0.82, ranking third in the WAC, while his .184 opposing batting average is good for fourth. Mannis has allowed just one run in four innings across four appearances this season.
Both matchups will be streamed on ESPN+. Logan Young will toe the rubber for the Wildcats versus the Horned Frogs.
ACU has met TCU in all but two seasons since 2015. The Wildcats earned the last win in the series, taking down the Horned Frogs 8-3 in Abilene on April 16, 2024. Maddox Miesse drove in a trio of runs, and Zandt Payne went 3 for 4 and scored twice. Caden Greanead, Blaine Palmer and Cade McGarrh combined for five scoreless innings in relief.
ACU has beaten TCU in Fort Worth twice in the Division I era, doing so in 2022 and 2018.
The Wildcats lead their Division I series with the Lumberjacks, 18-15, having won 15 of the last 18 matchups between the two. Last season, ACU took down Stephen F. Austin 11-2 in Nacogdoches, Texas before suffering a 15-13 loss in Abilene.
ACU returns to action after competing at the College Baseball Series in Cleburne, Texas last weekend. The Wildcats outslugged Creighton for a 12-11 victory, sandwiched by narrow losses to Texas State by 5-4 and 3-0 decisions.
Grant Watkins provided a power surge for the ACU bats, belting four home runs over the weekend with two long balls in each of the first two games of the series. His seven home runs this season lead the Western Athletic Conference and are tied for fourth nationally.
Payne went 6 for 14 at the plate in the three games and drove in four runs. He paces the Wildcats with 15 hits and 14 runs batted in, the latter of which is tied for second-most in the conference.
Freshman Baron Mannis continued to impress on the mound, logging four scoreless frames out of the bullpen in ACU's Sunday matchup with Texas State. The Wildcats held the Bobcats scoreless for the game's final eight innings as Mannis allowed just one hit with four strikeouts.
The Argyle, Texas product lowered his ERA to 0.82, ranking third in the WAC, while his .184 opposing batting average is good for fourth. Mannis has allowed just one run in four innings across four appearances this season.
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