The Wildcat softball team opened its season with a 3-2 record at the St. Mary’s Classic in San Antonio last weekend.
The team split a pair of games both Friday and Saturday before winning its fifth game Sunday at St. Mary University.
“I think that our strengths were our pitching and defense this weekend,” said Head Coach Chantiel Wilson. “We only had one error this weekend.”
ACU won its opening game Friday, defeating University of Texas-Permian Basin. The Wildcats trailed 3-2 but rallied to tie the game in the fourth inning. In the fifth inning, the Wildcats scored two more runs off an RBI single by Stephanie Tingle. They added one more run in the seventh to defeat the Falcons 6-3.
The Wildcats traded runs with Southeastern Oklahoma State throughout the night game. The Savage Storm tied the game at 3-3 in the fifth and added one more run in the sixth. ACU could not score in the seventh inning and fell to the Savage Storm 4-3.
The Wildcats lost their first Saturday game in a pitching duel against East Central. In six innings, freshman pitcher Shelby Hall was one hit away from a perfect game. Unfortunately for the Wildcats, that one hit was a Tiger home run that stayed just fair, hitting the foul ball pole. ACU could not match the run and fell 1-0. In the second game, the Wildcats bounced back, scoring six runs for a 6-3 victory against Texas A&M-International. Jacque Gregoire gave up three runs in the first inning before settling in and shutting down the Dustdevils. She didn’t give up another run after the first, pitching a complete game and recording her first win on the season.
The bats came alive for the Wildcats as they scored 12 runs against Incarnate Word on Sunday, defeating the Cardinals 12-0. ACU saw five players record multi-hit games, and Kim White threw five scoreless innings to run-rule the Cardinals, the first run-rule this season.
Despite the two losses, the Wildcats made a strong showing this weekend. They gave up only 11 runs in five games, and outfielder Melissa Mendoza had 13 hits this weekend, giving her a batting average of .650 for the year.
The Wildcats were scheduled to play a double header against the Midwestern State Mustangs on Tuesday, but the games have been canceled due to the weather. The Wildcats will be back in action Saturday for the CBS Classic at home.
