By Chandler Harris, Assistant Sports Editor
The softball team defeated Cameron 5-3 on Tuesday at Wells Field in a game that was delayed for an hour and a half over confusion on the part of who was to umpire the matchup. Originally, the teams were scheduled to play a doubleheader, but after the initial delay, it was agreed upon to just play one game.
“After the delay, it was definitely a less intense game than we played in the past,” head softball coach Chantiel Wilson said. “We came out with a few early runs and took care of business. We learned that from now on we need to stay focused whether the game is delayed for weather, umpires or whatever else happens.”
The Wildcats did take care of business in the first inning after outfielder Shelby McElvain singled and catcher Jessica Shiery hit a two-run home run, her sixth of the season, to put the team up 2-0. With two outs in the bottom of the second inning, McElvain drove home another run with an RBI double, followed by an RBI double from Shiery as well, giving the team a 4-0 lead.
Shiery has been on an offensive hot streak lately, hitting .500 with 13 RBI in her last eight games.
“Jessica is one of our best hitters, and I believe she is one of [the] best hitters in region,” Wilson said. “She had been in a slump for her, but yesterday she got her swing back and did really well for us.” With a four-run cushion, Jacque Gregoire did the rest, keeping Cameron to three runs on nine hits in a complete game victory. Gregoire allowed no walks and struck out two in her 11th win of the season.
“We have tried to enforce to our pitchers that you can’t walk batters, and Jacque has done a great job of getting ahead in the count, and that is a huge factor of her success,” Wilson said.
Shiery led the Wildcats with two hits and a game-high three RBI, while McElvain added two hits and one RBI. With the victory, the Wildcats move to 16-7 on the season and have won 11 of their 14 games.
“To come out of these 14 games 11-3 is very admirable, but we realize that the most important record is in conference,” Wilson said.
ACU will face Midwestern State in a doubleheader in Wichita Falls on Saturday at 1 p.m., with the second game scheduled for 3 p.m.
“We played them in San Antonio earlier in the season and beat them 4-1,” Wilson said. “Their pitcher threw a perfect game yesterday and is getting her game together. They will be a tougher team to play at their place. We need to play tough defense and just let them make a mistake.”
