The 7-1 Wildcats have gotten off to the quick start they wanted – the offense is playing well, and the pitching isn’t far behind.

As they begin a nine-game road trip, ACU will try to keep their bats hot against a tough Texas A&M-Kingsville squad.

“We want to sweep everybody, especially LSC opponents,” said relief pitcher Chay Lytle. “We don’t want to play at the level of our opponents; we want to play at a higher level.”

Kingsville has started its 2010 campaign 6-2, including a win over 20th-ranked Incarnate Word. The Wildcats are currently tenth in the nation and will prove to be the hardest opponent Kingsville has seen this season.

When the Wildcats won the Lone Star Conference last season, they took the four-game series from the Javelinas 3-1. This season, however, the Wildcats will be facing the Javelinas in Kingsville rather than the friendly confines of Crutcher Scott Field.

The starting pitching has been the only weak aspect of the Wildcats’ game thus far. In seven of the Wildcats’ eight games, ACU found itself behind early. In six of those games, the Wildcats have been able to come back and win with strong relief pitching and even stronger hitting.

“Our starting pitching needs to stay low in the zone and stay ahead in the count,” Lytle said. “It’s what every pitcher needs to do to be successful.”

So far this season, Kingsville has been able to get on the scoreboard early and often, putting up run totals of 10 or more four times. In the last game, the Wildcats set a record for most runs in an inning with 13 – they scored nine with two outs on the board. The Wildcats will have a good shot at winning if they can limit the Javelinas’ runs in the early innings.

The four-game set will begin at 3 p.m. Friday with a doubleheader and conclude with another doubleheader starting at 1 p.m. Saturday. All four games will be played at Nolan Ryan Field in Kingsville.