By Grant Abston, Sports Editor
For the second weekend in a row, the Wildcats won three of four in a Lone Star Conference matchup to remain atop the LSC standings, highlighted by catcher Jordan Schmitt’s second consecutive series with six RBIs in a game.
The Wildcats swept Texas A&M-Kingsville on Friday before splitting a doubleheader Saturday, improving to 14-4 overall and 10-2 in the LSC. ACU extended its conference lead in the standings to two games and has now won 13 of its last 15 games. ACU also moved up five more places to No. 3 in the Collegiate Baseball NCAA Division II Poll, tied with Mesa State.
“Our bullpen did a really good job to keep us in ballgames to win that series,” head coach Britt Bonneau said. “If it wasn’t for Kevin Justice and Andrew Yacek, there’s a good chance we would have split the weekend.”
In game one of Friday’s doubleheader, starting pitcher Cameron Aspaas went six innings, allowing no runs on three hits in his best start of the season to give the Wildcats their first shutout of the season. Aspaas improved to 4-0 after relief pitcher Andrew Yacek struck out the side in the final inning to give the Wildcats a 5-0 win. Second baseman Chris Hall led off the first inning with a double and scored after centerfielder Thomas Bumpass doubled on the next at-bat. Shortstop Willie Uechi singled Bumpass home on the next at-bat before Schmitt, who reached on a walk, scored on a sacrifice fly by left fielder Anthony Walsh. An RBI single by third baseman Cameron Watten scored designated hitter Travis Latz for the final run of the inning to make it 4-0. Latz singled home Schmitt in the bottom of the third inning for the final run.
In game two, the Wildcats broke a 3-3 tie in the bottom of the third inning and scored six runs over the final six innings to win 9-5. The Wildcats loaded the bases in the third after a single by Bumpass, and Schmitt and Latz reached after being hit by pitches. Walsh walked on the next at-bat to score Bumpass, and Watten scored Schmitt on a sacrifice fly to give the Wildcats the lead for good.
Relief pitcher Kevin Justice won his third game of the season after relieving starting pitcher Cooper Page. Justice went 3 2/3 innings, allowing two runs on four hits. Bumpass and Schmitt led the team with two hits, while third baseman Davis Page had a game-high three RBI.
“I’ve seen their progression as pitchers, and they have stepped up beyond their maturity level for a freshman and sophomore and are very poised for how old they are,” Schmitt said of Yacek and Justice. “They’re throwing strikes and getting outs, which is huge for us.”
The Javelinas jumped all over ACU in game one Saturday, scoring 15 runs on 18 hits to open the doubleheader. Trailing 3-1 going into the third inning, the Javelinas scored five runs to take a 6-3 lead, capped by a three-run home run by center fielder Will Mettlach. Texas A&M-Kingsville never slowed down, scoring nine runs over the final four innings to win 15-7.
Starting pitcher Preston Vancil went just four innings, allowing seven runs on seven hits in his first loss of the season. First baseman Bret Bochsler went 2-2 with three RBI and a home run to lead the Wildcat offense, while Walsh finished with a team-high three hits.
But after getting blown out, the Wildcat offense bounced back, scoring 11 runs on 16 hits, led by Schmitt, who had six RBI on two hits, his second series with six RBI in a game. Both teams remained scoreless until the fourth inning, as each team scored one run. After the Javelinas took a one-run lead in the top of the fifth, ACU answered with two runs in the bottom half of the inning after RBI from Schmitt and Walsh to take a one-run lead.
However, Texas A&M-Kingsville would not go away, scoring two more runs in the sixth to grab a one-run lead. But the Wildcats broke out over the final three innings, scoring two runs in the seventh and six in the eighth to win 11-4. Schmitt recorded his second and third RBI of the game after hitting a two-run home run in the seventh before hitting a three-run triple in the eighth to give him six RBI.
“[Schmitt] calls our games for us and has matured as a player and has been so consistent with his bat over the last two weeks and has really carried us,” Bonneau said. “Guys around him have gotten on base and have given him the opportunity to drive them in.”
The Wildcats will play Texas Wesleyan on Wednesday at 3 p.m. on the road, before facing West Texas A&M in a four-game series at home beginning Friday.
