ACU was 19-13 before going into the three-game series against the University of Texas at Austin. ACU’s most recent win against UT Arlington 11-10 gave ACU momentum coming into the series against #3 ranked UT.

“Going in, we were extremely excited,” said head coach Rick McCarty. “It’s the first time in a long time that the team has had a chance to go and play anyone within top five in the country.”

ACU struggled early on in the series allowing the Longhorns to score 11 runs in the first three innings of the first game. The Wildcats raked in a total of four hits compared to UT’s massive 17 hits resulting in ACU losing 0-18. Sophomore centerfielder Grayson Tatrow led ACU in the first game with two hits during four at-bats.

Saturday, Tatrow came out swinging, giving ACU the early lead in the first inning 1-0. Junior pitcher Genner Cervantes held UT scoreless through the sixth inning, when he was taken out of the game. After UT scored in the sixth inning they continued to score a run each inning ending the game 3-1.

“It’s a tale of two different days where you get a rough start on Friday. Saturday, we came out attacking, Genner came out attacking. He did a really good job of keeping them off balance that second game,” said McCarty.

ACU struggled once again against the Big 12 powerhouse as UT took the lead in the first inning 4-0. ACU wasn’t able to respond with a run of their own until the third inning, with junior third baseman Alexei Cazarin sliding into home. It was too late for ACU though, the sore was 6-1. ACU ultimately did not score for the rest of the game and fell to UT 0-3, with the final score being 11-1.

ACU’s next series is against The University of Incarnate Ward here in Abilene. The first game is Friday followed by a doubleheader Saturday and a fourth game Sunday.