By Joel Weckerly, Sports Editor
After last weekend’s four-game set against Lone Star Conference South opponent Eastern New Mexico, the softball team didn’t get any closer to advancing to the postseason, but it didn’t get any further away-at least on paper.
After losing both games of Friday’s doubleheader and winning both on Saturday, the Wildcats still stand at fourth place in the South with a 6-6 divisional record and a 23-22 overall mark. But head coach Carol Tabor said they accomplished a lot more than what might seem obvious.
“Eastern New Mexico is by far the toughest place to win in conference,” Tabor said. “I think we actually did increase our chances of making the playoffs. To get those two wins on Saturday changed our reflection of the season. It was amazing.”
ACU dropped Friday’s games to the Zias with respective scores of 7-6 and 11-3 but came back on Saturday to win 12-10 and 13-11, respectively.
“We got behind after Friday, but we came back and fought on Saturday,” junior starting pitcher Christina Yorkey said. “We knew we could do it; we just didn’t have the drive on Friday. We weren’t going to be satisfied until we won.”
With strong winds blowing straight out to center field, both the Zias and Wildcats put together a slugfest, with the total run count ranging from 13 to 24 runs in any single game. The Wildcats showed some offensive flair in the top of the seventh inning of Saturday’s second game, when they were tied 7-7 and scored six runs in that inning to go ahead 13-7.
“Between Friday and Saturday we recognized what it took to win,” Tabor said. “We knew we’d have to get 15 hits, and that’s a hard thing to do. We built our confidence up; if scoring 25 runs in two games doesn’t build confidence, I don’t know what does.”
The hitter’s advantage made things tough for Yorkey, who took the loss in Friday’s opener but came back to close out the last two innings of Saturday’s opener and throw the first four innings in game two.
“I did alright,” Yorkey said. “The girls on that team had awesome bats. I had to use a lot of junk, a lot of movement, to keep them guessing. Our defense was behind me the whole time, and that helped out a lot.”
ACU’s goal to make the playoffs will become possible should the Cats finish in the top three in the LSC South, and Tabor said to do that will require constant improvement.
“We played much better this weekend than last weekend,” Tabor said. “It’s a journey, and we’re growing and getting better every weekend. It think it will continue.”
