Wildcat Softball opens the season this Friday at Texas State against Iowa at 10 A.M., followed by a familiar foe, in Texas State. ACU and Texas State squared off three times last season with the bobcats claiming all three games.
The bobcats won their season opener last season against ACU 13-1, an extra innings thriller 4-3, and beat the cats one more time 2-0 in the Louisiana Tech spring tournament. Texas State finished 40-22 and 15-9 in the Sun Belt conference and returns versatile Taylor Webb, who batted .311 last season and led the team.
“We played Texas State three times last year so we’re more prepared for them.” said junior second baseman Holly Neese.
The Wildcats will play an Iowa team prior to Texas State, who struggled in the Big Ten last season. The Hawkeyes are coming off a tough 13-39 season that included a 3-20 Big Ten conference record.
“Iowa didn’t have a great season last year, but they’re part of the Big Ten and they’re going to be tough competition no matter what,” said pitcher Hannah Null. “They’ve had snow this week so I’m sure they’re ready to play in the warm sun and we will have our A game.”
Null, a redshirt junior pitcher who pitched in 37 games last season with 25 starts feels confident as does sophomore catcher Donnelle Johnson. ” I know they (Texas State) have a good pitching staff so we will have to be smart at the plate.”
On Saturday ACU will square off with two more familiar foes in Texas Tech and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. The Wildcats split a two-game series with the Red Raiders, earning a 3-1 victory in Lubbock and falling 6-1 at home.
The Islanders were able to steal one game from the Wildcats in the three-game series during Southland Conference action, but ACU took the series with 7-3 and 5-3 wins in Corpus Christi.
ACU took on a Southland Conference opponent in its season opening tournament last year in Northwestern State, falling 4-2. The Wildcats did not face the Lady Demons during conference play, but they will see the Islanders again in Southland competition when they visit Abilene at the end of March.
Live stats for all four games can be found on Texas State Athletics’ website.
