ACU Takes On Rice for First Time On Hometown Heroes Weekend

Friday, March 6

Abilene, Texas

6 p.m.

Abilene Christian

Rice

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Brett Lanman delivers a pitch in ACU's matchup with Oral Roberts at Crutcher Scott Field at Bullock Brothers Ballpark on Feb. 20, 2026.

Photo by: Kaylee Kahn

ACU Takes On Rice for First Time On Hometown Heroes Weekend

3/6/2026 12:04:00 PM | Baseball

ACU Game Notes

By: Luke White

ABILENE - Abilene Christian baseball looks to continue its power surge as it hosts Rice for a three-game series this weekend at Crutcher Scott Field at Bullock Brothers Ballpark. The Wildcats and the Owls get started at 6 p.m. Friday before a 3 p.m. first pitch on Saturday. They'll close out the series at 1 p.m. Sunday.

ACU will recognize local first responders and military for Hometown Heroes Weekend. Saturday's game is presented by Chick-Fil-A North Abilene, and Sunday is First Responders Day. Friday's game will be broadcast on ESPN+, while Sunday's matchup will be streamed on WAC International.

This weekend features the first all-time meetings between ACU and 2003 College World Series champion Rice, then a member of the Western Athletic Conference.

The Wildcats are on the heels of Wednesday's eight-inning thriller against Stephen F. Austin in Abilene. ACU went down 10-1 entering the bottom of the fifth inning before erupting to score the game's final 19 runs over the last four frames to initiate the run rule.

Diego Cardenas powered the Wildcats with nine runs batted in, tying the program record that he previously matched with a nine-RBI outburst last season. It's tied for the most runs batted in in a Division I game this season. He hit a grand slam and a three-run homer, while Zandt Payne provided the go-ahead three-run blast in the sixth inning.

ACU rattled off 15 runs over the fifth and sixth innings. Each member of the Wildcats' lineup collected a hit and scored, led by Cardenas, Grant Watkins and JT Thompson with three hits apiece.

It was the Wildcats' fifth game of the season scoring 10 runs or more. ACU leads the WAC and is tied for sixth in the nation with 25 home runs, with Watkins' seven long balls pacing the conference and drawing for eighth nationally. Cardenas isn't far behind him with six this season, tying for 17th in the country. ACU's .513 slugging percentage leads the WAC while ranking 33rd in the nation.

Cardenas' 19 RBIs are the most in the WAC and are tied for 19th nationally, while Watkins paces the conference with 18 runs, good to tie for 35th in the country.