The Wildcats were on the road this past weekend in Melissa at the University of North Texas Tournament, splitting the weekend, 3-2.
Friday afternoon, ACU played Nevada concluding in a win, 4-3. The Wildcats and Wolves had no previous meetings prior to this game.
Sydney Kaiser, sophomore catcher from Pflugerville, Shaylee Alani, junior infielder from Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, and Avery Miloch, sophomore catcher from Georgetown, all secured a home run, putting the Wildcats out in front.
“It was nice to see them have a high production because we didn’t see that from them in the last tournament,” head coach Abigail Farler said. “So seeing them be able to turn around and perform like that is huge.”
Riley White, sophomore pitcher from Thorndale, secured her second win of the season. White pitched all seven innings, facing 30 batters and gained seven strikeouts.
“Maturity, leadership and consistency is something I see Riley learning from Sidney, which is really good for her,” Farler said.
Friday night, the Wildcats met Colorado State, where they swept the Rams, 4-0. The last time ACU and Colorado State met was in 2019, which ended in two losses.
Miloch dominated the game with a 2 RBI double in the first inning and a 2 RBI home run in the sixth inning.
Sidney Holman-Mansell, graduate pitcher from Belton, also gained her second win of the season, only allowing five hits. Holman-Mansell secured seven strikeouts and solely allowed three walks.
The Rams and the Wildcats met again Saturday afternoon, resulting in a win for ACU, 3-2.
Sadie Eichelberger, junior outfielder from Tremonton, Utah, hit an RBI single sending Matti Reiling, sophomore third infielder from Lincoln, Nebraska, home. Alani set the Wildcats out on top by receiving an RBI double, allowing Eichelberger to score. Logan Gaspar, freshman infielder from Kapolei, Hawaii, was able to score on one of the Rams’ errors, pushing ACU to their final score of three runs.
Hannah Benavides, freshman pitcher from Deer Park, received her first save of the season, giving White her third win.
Saturday night, the Wildcats suited up to play one of their long-time competitors, North Texas, which ended in a loss, 1-3.
Holman-Mansell pitched for six innings, touching 24 batters and striking out four of them. Yet, North Texas’ Ashley Peters, junior pitcher from Rock Island, Illinois, only gave five hits with seven strikeouts in her 28 batters faced.
“Sidney’s’ composure, I mean games haven’t gone her way, even though she has pitched exceptionally well,” Farler said. “Against North Texas, she threw a two-hitter, which ended in a loss, when we actually out hit them.”
Isabel Martinez, freshman outfielder from Dale, was able to score on an error created by North Texas, putting ACU on the board in the sixth inning. ACU and North Texas created four total errors combined.
Sunday morning, the Wildcats met Nevada again for the final game of the tournament, ending in a loss, 1-2.
Holman-Mansell received her fourth loss of the season by giving up two hits and one run to the Wolves.
Alani singled out to right field, giving an RBI, causing Gaspar to score, tieing the game, 1-1, in the sixth. Yet, Nevada secured an inside-the-park home run on the Wildcats, giving them the lead in the bottom of the sixth.
‘This weekend had good games for us to play in,” Farler said. “It was nice having pressure on us and they were good matchups and fun to compete.”
The Wildcats stay on the road and travel to Honolulu, Hawaii for the Hawaii Tournament Thursday through Saturday.
