The Wildcats continued their run of outstanding play Saturday and Sunday, winning three of four games against the Northeastern State Riverhawks in Tahlequah, Okla.
The Wildcats won the first game of the series Saturday, scorching NESU 7-1. They held the lead in Game 2, but the Riverhawks exploded for four runs in the eighth inning to edge ACU 9-8. Head Coach Britt Bonneau’s team responded resolutely, winning the third and fourth games of the series 12-2 and 9-4, respectively.
“I thought we played well for the whole series with the exception of one inning,” Bonneau said. “In my opinion, I thought we were in charge of all the games. It’s definitely a tough place to play as far as the atmosphere. We played as good as we could have.”
The Wildcats have won 13 of 14 games and sit at 32-8 on the season. They also improved to 21-7 in Lone Star Conference play, good for first place in the LSC.
The Wildcats continue to win with a hybrid of good pitching and an explosive offense. The ‘Cats offense is averaging 9.2 runs per game this year, while ACU pitchers have amassed a solid 4.21 ERA on the season.
Pitcher Cameron Aspaas dominated the Riverhawks in the first game of the series, tossing a complete game four-hitter. Aspaas gave up only one run on four hits while striking out seven hitters. Wildcat pitchers struggled in the second game, giving nine runs to NESU.
Pitcher Aaron Lambrix put in one of his better efforts of the season, tossing a complete game in the first game Sunday, giving up two runs in his seven innings of work.
“I felt like I threw pretty well, and we scored a lot of runs,” Lambrix said. “Our offense is tearing it up, and our pitching is keeping us in games.”
Bonneau said he was pleased with his pitchers’ efforts in the series.
“Our starting pitchers, Cameron Aspaas and Aaron Lambrix, did extremely well in their starts, and Josh Crockett came in and threw well on Friday,” Bonneau said. “Winning three of four on the road was big for us.”
Will Calhoun, who leads the Wildcats in hitting this year with a .462 batting average, collected six hits for the series, including three in the final game Sunday. Outfielder Travis Latz torched NESU pitchers for nine hits in the series, including a pair of home runs. Latz is tied for the team lead in home runs this season with eight and leads the team in RBIs with 45 for the year.
“”Every one of our guys can hit, and I feel that hitting is contagious,” Latz said. “Everyone is going out there and competing with each other, and healthy competition is good for us.”
The Wildcats will be back in action this weekend, taking on LSC foe Cameron in a four-game series at Crutcher Scott Field. The Aggies are 22-12 this season and 21-12 in LSC play. Cameron is currently second in the conference.
