By Grant Abston, Sports Editor
In their first Lone Star Conference series of the season, the Wildcats extended their winning streak to six by sweeping Southwestern Oklahoma State in a four-game home series, improving to 7-2 overall and 4-0 in the LSC.
After a dominating 8-1 win Thursday, the Wildcats won two close games Friday 3-2 and 2-1 before finishing up Saturday with a 15-5 win. The Wildcats jumped from No. 24 to No. 15 in the Collegiate Baseball rankings and will travel to Edmund, Okla., to play a four-game series beginning Friday against Central Oklahoma.
“We had some good pitching performances this weekend, and you know it all started off with Matt Sullivan, who had eight strong innings and 11 strikeouts,” said head coach Britt Bonneau. “When you start a weekend off like that, it can help the momentum going into the doubleheaders on Saturday.”
Sullivan pitched the best game of his ACU career Thursday, going eight innings and giving up just one run on four hits, while striking out 11. Sullivan improved to 1-0 on the season, dropping his ERA to 2.92. The Wildcats scored three runs over the first four innings before scoring five over the final four to win the series opener. Shortstop Willie Uechi led the Wildcats with a game-high four hits and added one RBI. Catcher Jordan Schmitt went 2-4 with two RBI, and second baseman Chris Hall, designated hitter Travis Latz and first baseman Cameron Watten each had two hits.
“It was a big confidence booster,” Sullivan said. “My career has kind of been up and down, but so far this year it has been up, so I’m trying to keep up the confidence.”
In the first game of the double-header Friday, the Wildcats fell behind 2-0 in the top of the first inning but scored three runs in the first three innings, led by a two-run third inning when Uechi singled home center fielder Thomas Bumpass and Schmitt doubled to score Uechi and take a 3-2 lead. It was all the offense ACU would need as starting pitcher Cameron Aspaas recorded his second win of the season, pitching five innings and giving up two runs on hits, while striking out six.
Closing pitcher Brad Rutherford picked up his first save of the season after pitching the final two innings, giving up just two hits and allowing no runs. Uechi and Schmitt led the team with two hits, while Schmitt had two RBI and Uechi recorded one.
In Friday’s second game, the Wildcats won another close one behind starting pitcher Preston Vancil’s first win of the season. Vancil went eight innings, allowing just one run on two hits and striking out career-high 13 batters. Vancil also struck out eight consecutive batters to close the game, coming close to the NCAA Division I record of consecutive strikeouts (10) set by Barry Zito in 1996.
In the bottom of the eighth, Latz walked with one out before Watten doubled to put runners on second and third with one out. First baseman Brett Bochsler was intentionally walked, and outfielder David Page was hit by a pitch on the next at bat to score the winning run. Uechi and Watten led ACU with two hits apiece.
“I thought we did well,” Sullivan said. “Anytime you can get off to 4-0 start in conference is a good thing, and we finally got our bats rolling the last game.”
In Saturday’s finale, the Wildcats exploded for a season-high 15 runs on 14 hits to give the Wildcats a 15-5 win. Southwestern Oklahoma tied the game at five in the top of the fifth, but the Wildcats scored 10 runs in the final three innings to get the run-rule victory.
Bumpass and Watten led the team with three hits, while right fielder Cameron Bankston, Hall and Uechi each had multi-hit games. Watten had a game-high three RBI, while Bumpass and Bankston each had two. Starting pitcher Cooper Paige earned a no-decision after pitching 4 2/3 innings, allowing two earned runs on nine hits. Relief pitcher Kevin Justice got the win after pitching the remaining 2 1/3 innings, giving up just one hit and no runs.
“On Saturday, our hitters woke up and did a good job of working the other way and hitting to right field,” Bonneau said. “We had a lot more hits in the game, a lot more runs in the game and hit the ball hard on the ground and started using the right centerfield gap and finally made some adjustment after three games.”
The Wildcats will travel to play Central Oklahoma (4-3, 2-2) this weekend.
