Sophomore pitcher Samantha Bradley pitched all seven innings for the Wildcats in their opening matchup against the Maine Black Bears Friday afternoon with a convincing 9-2 victory.
Bradley had bases loaded in the top of the first with only one out, but escaped with two straight strikeouts to keep the game scoreless early. Meanwhile at the bottom of the first, the Wildcats got their offense rolling behind sophomore Callie Burris who was the designated hitter of the game.
Burris hit a line drive into center field for an RBI single to send sophomore Katelyn Belch back to home plate. Burris finished the game 2-4 with one run.
ACU took over the game in the third inning where they scored six runs to take a commanding 8-1 lead. With the win, Bradley improved to 2-6 on the season as her ERA dropped to 5.24.
Thirty minutes after their win against the Black Bears, ACU took on the Kangaroos of University of Missouri Kansas City. Freshman pitcher Jillian Hefner got the start, but didn’t last long at the circle after allowing two solo shots over the wall in just two innings.
Bradley came in to replace Hefner with the bases loaded in the top of the fourth. UMKC scored three runs in the fourth inning and extended their lead 6-2.
Offense struggled against the Roos finishing the game with just six hits and two runs losing the matchup 8-2. With the loss, Hefner is now 1-2 on the season.
Their only game on Saturday to finish off the invitational was Maine. Once again, ACU played a strong offensive matchup against the Black Bears winning 9-2.
Burris received her third win of the season pitching for ACU to improve to 3-1 overall. She pitched five innings to hold the Black Bears to just two runs and five hits.
With that win, the Wildcats improve to 6-10 overall. Up next, ACU will travel out to Beaumont this weekend as conference play begins to take on the Lamar Cardinals in a three game series.
