By Daniel Johnson, Sports Writer
The fourth-ranked Wildcat baseball team continued its successful stride towards the LSC tournament this weekend after winning its fourth out-of-town series in the past five weeks.
Despite falling a game behind conference leaders Angelo State, the Wildcats won three out four games against Eastern New Mexico last weekend. The Wildcats improved their conference record to 11-5 before heading into the final series of the regular season after a regional game against Incarnate Word on Tuesday.
“We can only control what we do,” said head coach Britt Bonneau “We accomplished our goal of winning three out of four on the road, and we must continue to play good baseball as we approach the conference tournament.”
The Wildcats’ final win of the series was Bonneau’s 400th in nine years at ACU. In addition to this accomplishment, Bonneau has led the Wildcats to five conference championships, five regional tournaments, and was at the helm for the Wildcats only appearance in the NCAA Division II College World Series in 2003.
“It feels awesome to reach this milestone, mostly because of the players and people around me when I did it,” Bonneau said. “I am thankful ful to Dr. Gary McCaleb [vice president of the university] for giving me a chance to coach here.”
Designated hitter Joel Wells continued his assault of ACU’s previous single season home run record this weekend, after blasting two more balls out of the park in the first game. Wells’ record is now 16 and with 24 homers in his career at ACU, he is two short of tying Brad Massey’s career home run record of 26, which was set in 2003.
On top of three runs scored from Wells’ two homers, the Wildcats rounded the bases six more times in the 9-3 game one victory. Defensively, lead off pitcher Brian Kennedy was awarded the win after picking up four strikeouts and allowing only one run in six innings. Kennedy continues to lead the starters with a 3.34 ERA.
Wildcat pitcher Chris Wiman followed his one hit gem against A&M Kingsville with another clear victory in game two of the series. Wiman struck out eight of the first nine batters he faced and only allowed four hits in five innings pitched.
The Wildcat bats supported Wiman with solid hitting in the 9-1 victory. Right fielder Minor Alexander hit two RBI singles in his first two at bats, contributing to an early 5-0 Wildcat lead in the first three innings. First basemen Danny Williams had three RBI himself, as the Wildcats scored four more times in the 9-1 victory.
Saturdays’ first game resulted in the Wildcats’ only loss of the series. Despite a well-pitched game on Ben Maynard’s part, the Wildcats failed to facilitate any runs, losing 4-0. The Wildcats left 13 runners on base and only swung for six hits in the loss. Maynard picked up his third loss, even though he had three strikeouts and only walked three batters.
Bonneau’s 400th career win came in the final game of the series. The Wildcats jumped ahead early and held on to their lead in the 6-1 victory. Alexander added to his offensive success with three more RBI in the win. Pitcher Jason Kennedy completed a weekend of great pitching after throwing five solid innings for the Wildcats. Ruben Rivera closed the final game after reliever Brandon Moore gave up the Greyhounds only run.
Rivera closed a total of three games last weekend, combining for five strikeouts and only one hit in three innings. Rivera has five saves this season and has shined as the Wildcats’ go-to-closer so far this season.
