By Ryan Cantrell, Sports Writer
The Wildcats went 1-2 against the top-ranked Rambelles of Angelo State last weekend. Taking one of the three keeps the Wildcats tied at the top with Angelo State in conference with a 9-3 conference record.
“I felt like we played three good games,” head softball coach Chantiel Wilson said. “We won the first one, which was great beating the No. 1 team in the nation. The second one we competed in, but we had too many errors and you just cannot do that against good teams. The third one we forced extra innings, just didn’t pull it out.”
ACU won the first game Friday evening, defeating ASU 7-3. The victory was the first time ACU defeated a No. 1 ranked team in school history. The Wildcats were trailing 3-1 going into the fifth, before exploding for six runs to give them the lead and enough runs support to pull out the victory 7-3. Jacque Gregoire was great again as she finished the game only giving up six hits and striking out five. She also retired the final 12 batters in order.
The Rambelles bounced back, sweeping a doubleheader against the Wildcats on Saturday. They won the first game 11-5 and won the rubber match in the series finale 7-6 in extra innings.
The Wildcats hurt themselves in the first game with errors. Partin surrendered seven runs, but only four runs were earned. The Wildcats committed four errors in the bottom of the second as the Rambelles scored five runs in the second inning. After the Wildcats made a comeback cutting the score to 7-5, ASU added four more runs and gave Partin her first loss in LSC play.
In the second game, the Wildcats started off strong, scoring three runs in the top of the first. ASU quickly answered with a three-run home run by Macy Baker, tying the game in the bottom of the first. ASU would add two runs in the second and one run in the third to go ahead 6-3. The Wildcats would rally back, scoring three runs in the fourth inning. Both teams were kept scoreless through the seventh, forcing extra innings. In the eighth, ASU got a leadoff double from first baseman Sandy James, who eventually scored the winning run after second baseman Alix Dean singled her home.
Dean was the leader for the Rambelles on Saturday with eight RBIs on the day, five in the first game and three in the second game. The series allowed Angelo State to improve its record to 33-5, while the Wildcats fell to 31-11.
“I learned that I respect our team even more after this weekend,” Willson said. “This is one of the most competitive teams I have ever coached, and I feel that we proved we can beat anyone and compete with any team we face.”
The Wildcats will look to rebound this weekend against Tarleton State. They will have a three-game series in Abilene, beginning with a doubleheader Friday at 5 p.m. followed by a second game at 7 p.m. They will conclude the series at noon Saturday. It will be a pivotal series for both teams as the Wildcats are tied for first at 9-3, and Tarleton State is third in conference at 7-5. The team is now ranked No. 15 in the nation and No. 3 in the region.
