By Joshua Parrott, Sports Writer

The No. 3-ranked Wildcats lived up to their lofty national ranking this weekend, extending their winning streak to seven games with a three-game road sweep of the Buffaloes of West Texas A&M.

The Wildcats, now 13-2 overall and undefeated in six Lone Star Conference games, will welcome Tarleton State for a three-game series at Crutcher Scott Field Friday. The first game of Friday’s doubleheader will start at 2 p.m., and Saturday’s single game will start at noon.

Coach Britt Bonneau said Tarleton State is a tough team in a tough conference.

“We know their pitchers pitchers from last year, but all conference teams know each other well,” Bonneau said. “We have to go out there and execute what we can execute.”

Bonneau said the Texans’ shortstop Noel Sauceda, a pre-season all-America selection, is key to the Texan attack.

“Noel was MVP of the league last year,” Bonneau said. “You have to be careful how you pitch to him. He’s a good player.”

ACU dominated the pitching from West Texas A&M, scoring 35 runs and collecting 46 hits, including 23 in the final game of the series.

Wildcat seniors Chris Churchill, Creighton Bryan and Marcelino Escalante all had huge weekends. Churchill hit .500 with 6 RBI, four runs and one home run. Bryan added six hits, 6 RBI, five runs, a double and one home run, while Escalante broke out of a slump with six hits, 5 RBI and one run.

Junior transfer Brian Johnson added six hits, 4 RBI, three runs and a double over the weekend.

Senior third baseman and pitcher Brad Massey said the sweep over West Texas A&M boils down to the fact he just wants to win.

“It’s good to get a little confidence at the beginning of the year because it helps you play better later in the year,” Massey said. “A lot of these guys have been successful and have experience at some level. Every conference game, we know guys are shooting for us. We’re physically prepared; we just need to be mentally prepared.”