Friday, May 1
St. George, UT
3 p.m. (CT)
Abilene Christian
at
Utah Tech
Photo by: Aly Bayliss
Playoffs Start Now for ACU Softball at Utah Tech
4/30/2026 8:00:00 AM | Softball
The Abilene Christian softball team's final weekend of the regular season comes with a clear equation: win the series at Utah Tech, and the Wildcats are headed to the conference tournament. Lose, and the season ends.
For shortstop/catcher Audrey Lacina, the task is simple—keep playing the way she has been.
Lacina enters the weekend on a 7-game hitting streak and has reached base in 11 straight games, the longest streak on the team this season. In the last 10 games, she's batting .333, one of the top averages on the roster during that stretch.
"We're going into the weekend confident and not complacent," Lacina said. "We're going to compete and looking to win the series."
Finding Joy in the Game
The junior has settled into a groove at the plate, crediting a relaxed mindset for her recent surge.
"I think it's just having fun in the game, not stressing too much," she said. "I feel like the more I have fun, the better I do, and I'm seeing the ball pretty well at the plate, so that's helping a lot."
Her consistency has provided a spark for a young Wildcats lineup that's still learning how to finish close games. Lacina's ability to get on base and extend at-bats has helped set the tone at the top of the order, especially as ACU fights for postseason life.
Balancing Softball and Nursing
Away from the field, Lacina is balancing classwork as a nursing major, one of the most demanding on campus. She's already thinking about how she wants to serve others after graduation.
"I think I want to do pediatrics just because when I was sick, I was in a pediatric hospital and all the nurses were amazing, so I kind of want to be an example of that."
During her sophomore year of high school, Lacina was diagnosed with an extremely rare and potentially fatal condition known as Superior Mesenteric Artery Syndrome, which made it nearly impossible for her to eat or drink without pain. After several misdiagnoses of an eating disorder, Dr. Shawn St. Peter at Kansas City's Children's Mercy Hospital performed an innovative surgery that involved cutting out some of her intestines while re-routing other organs. It was just the third time the procedure had been done, and Lacina's was the first time it was successful.
Brick by Brick
This season has brought its share of challenges as the Wildcats sit with a 3-12 record in the WAC, but Lacina sees the bigger picture for a roster loaded with underclassmen.
"We're a young team, so just developing our freshmen and knowing that they still have a lot of years left," she said. "Championships aren't built in one day, but like [head coach Jo] Koons says, 'Brick by brick'. Knowing that we have a long future ahead is a really high point for us."
"Utah Tech was a tough series for us last year, and so there's some animosity that we want to have a better series this weekend," said Koons. "You just have to get [to the tournament] because once you get there it's house money at that point. Anything can happen."
ACU and Utah Tech, both tied for 6th place in the WAC, square off in St. George, UT, beginning with a doubleheader on Friday at 3 p.m. CT. The last game of the regular season is Saturday at 1 p.m. CT. All three games are scheduled to stream on ESPN+.
The series winner advances to next week's University Credit Union WAC Softball Tournament in Stephenville. If the Wildcats sweep the Trailblazers and Utah Valley wins all three games over Southern Utah, then ACU would jump to the 5th seed in the tournament.
For shortstop/catcher Audrey Lacina, the task is simple—keep playing the way she has been.
Lacina enters the weekend on a 7-game hitting streak and has reached base in 11 straight games, the longest streak on the team this season. In the last 10 games, she's batting .333, one of the top averages on the roster during that stretch.
"We're going into the weekend confident and not complacent," Lacina said. "We're going to compete and looking to win the series."
Finding Joy in the Game
The junior has settled into a groove at the plate, crediting a relaxed mindset for her recent surge.
"I think it's just having fun in the game, not stressing too much," she said. "I feel like the more I have fun, the better I do, and I'm seeing the ball pretty well at the plate, so that's helping a lot."
Her consistency has provided a spark for a young Wildcats lineup that's still learning how to finish close games. Lacina's ability to get on base and extend at-bats has helped set the tone at the top of the order, especially as ACU fights for postseason life.
Balancing Softball and Nursing
Away from the field, Lacina is balancing classwork as a nursing major, one of the most demanding on campus. She's already thinking about how she wants to serve others after graduation.
"I think I want to do pediatrics just because when I was sick, I was in a pediatric hospital and all the nurses were amazing, so I kind of want to be an example of that."
During her sophomore year of high school, Lacina was diagnosed with an extremely rare and potentially fatal condition known as Superior Mesenteric Artery Syndrome, which made it nearly impossible for her to eat or drink without pain. After several misdiagnoses of an eating disorder, Dr. Shawn St. Peter at Kansas City's Children's Mercy Hospital performed an innovative surgery that involved cutting out some of her intestines while re-routing other organs. It was just the third time the procedure had been done, and Lacina's was the first time it was successful.
Brick by Brick
This season has brought its share of challenges as the Wildcats sit with a 3-12 record in the WAC, but Lacina sees the bigger picture for a roster loaded with underclassmen.
"We're a young team, so just developing our freshmen and knowing that they still have a lot of years left," she said. "Championships aren't built in one day, but like [head coach Jo] Koons says, 'Brick by brick'. Knowing that we have a long future ahead is a really high point for us."
"Utah Tech was a tough series for us last year, and so there's some animosity that we want to have a better series this weekend," said Koons. "You just have to get [to the tournament] because once you get there it's house money at that point. Anything can happen."
ACU and Utah Tech, both tied for 6th place in the WAC, square off in St. George, UT, beginning with a doubleheader on Friday at 3 p.m. CT. The last game of the regular season is Saturday at 1 p.m. CT. All three games are scheduled to stream on ESPN+.
The series winner advances to next week's University Credit Union WAC Softball Tournament in Stephenville. If the Wildcats sweep the Trailblazers and Utah Valley wins all three games over Southern Utah, then ACU would jump to the 5th seed in the tournament.
Players Mentioned
UTL
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