The baseball team starts its first game in the Southland Conference against Central Arkansas at 4 p.m. on Friday at Crutcher Scott Field.
The game will start the Al Scott Memorial Baseball Classic. The tournament is in honor of late ACU baseball great, Al Scott. who was the main factor in restarting ACU’s baseball program in 1991 and a staple in ACU baseball’s history.
The ‘Cats will have their hands full against Central Arkansas. The Bears made it all the way to NCAA Regionals last year, the farthest any team in the Southland has ever gone in baseball.
“Here’s a team that was in the regional finals last year they were 3-3 against Mississippi State, a team that has played in some big venues,” head coach Britt Bonneau said. “We will have to play against good teams and learn from those experiences. I’m just anxious to get out there and play against them and see what happens.”
UCA enters Friday with a 1-3 record, as the Bears lost two of three against Missouri State and lost to Wichita State on Tuesday.
ACU will compete with a young group of players this year as they started five freshman over the weekend.
The Wildcats are depending on sophomore pitcher Nate Cole as he takes the mound against the Bears. He will look to duplicate the success he had in his last start, as he pitched five innings against Arlington Baptist, in which he gave up four hits, a run and ten strikeouts.
The Wildcats hope to build on their sweep last week against Arlington Baptist, in which they showed off aspects of their game, holding Arlington Baptist to four runs or fewer in all three games. Their offense scored double-digits in two of the games, reaching 12 runs in the first game and 14 in the second.
Sophomore transfer and pitcher Garrett Demeyere pitched six shutout innings for the Wildcats, allowing only four hits.
Senior infielder Seth Spivey hit 6-for-10 and scored six runs in the series.
“I just wanted to relax at the plate and help the team win,” Spivey said. “I felt like I did a good job of getting the game going with a leadoff double on Sunday.”
