By Ryan Cantrell, Sports Writer
Despite being ranked No. 2 in the regional poll just three weeks ago, ACU dropped to No. 5 in the regional poll after a 4-5 finish and will head into this weekend’s Lone Star Conference Baseball Championship tournament needing a strong performance to earn an invite to the regional tournament.
The No. 25 Wildcats (39-17, 30-14) earned the No. 3 seed for the LSC postseason tournament and will play fourth-seeded Southeastern Oklahoma (27-24, 23-30) in their opening game of the tournament. The top six teams in the LSC will be competing for the LSC championship while the top six ranked teams in the region, ranked after the conference tournament, will earn an invite to the regional tournament; the winner of the LSC tournament will get an automatic invite.
“Anytime you play in the playoffs is an accomplishment, and that’s something a handful of our guys have not done with all the new guys,” head coach Britt Bonneau said. “We are kind of a bubble team this year and have to play well enough to get to championship Tuesday, and to get there, you got to play good baseball early.”
The Wildcats, who won three of four from Southeastern Oklahoma earlier this season at home, enter the series as the top-ranked team in the LSC in batting average (.348), and average just under eight runs a game. Catcher Jordan Schmitt, who broke the ACU single-season record for RBI last weekend, will lead the Wildcats’ offense. Schmitt leads the team in home runs (12), RBI (89), triples (5), doubles (20) and ranks third with a .391 average. Shortstop Willie Uechi (.409), center fielder Thomas Bumpass (.397), second baseman Chris Hall (.381), designated hitter Cameron Watten (.358) and outfielder Travis Latz (.353) will also be key to the Wildcats’ success.
On the mound, ACU finished the season ranked second in the LSC with a 5.09 team ERA. Starting pitcher Preston Vancil (3-4) leads all starters with a 3.98 ERA and tops the LSC in strikeouts (96). Starting pitchers Cameron Aspaas (7-2, 4.63 ERA) and Cooper Page (2-1, 5.34 ERA) also will be key in the tournament, while relief pitcher Kevin Justice (7-2, 4.08 ERA) and closer Brad Rutherford (9-3, 3.16 ERA, 10 saves) will play big roles.
“We battled with [Southeastern Oklahoma] early in the year and had some really close games,” Bonneau said. “Preston Vancil threw a very good game against them, and we will have him and Aspaas to choose from to start the series out.”
The Savage Storm finished off the regular season by taking three of four from East Central, and are led by starting pitchers Reece Dodd (11-3, 2.35 ERA), who leads the LSC in ERA, and Nathan Johnson (4-6, 5.15 ERA). Offensively, outfielder Cody Pearce (.389), infielder Scott Hancock (.374) and catcher Ryan Bowen (.333, 8 HR) will lead Southeastern Oklahoma.
The LSC tournament field will also include top-seeded Cameron, second-seeded Angelo State, fifth-seeded Eastern New Mexico and sixth-seeded Tarleton State. The Wildcats, who lost last season to Texas A&M-Kingsville in the championship game of the tournament, will begin play Saturday at 7 p.m. at Crutcher Scott Field. If ACU wins, they will play Sunday at 7 p.m., but would play Sunday at 3 p.m. if they lost their first game in the double elimination tournament.
“We’re in a position where we have to win to go to regional’s which is a little different from years past,” Bonneau said. “This team can do a lot of damage, and we will wait and see who shows up and how we respond to the tournament atmosphere.”
