The Wildcats met Sam Houston this past weekend, winning their first conference meetup, 2-1.
On Friday, ACU and Sam Houston met for a doubleheader, where ACU swept both.
In game one, the Wildcats were able to grab the win by a large margin of, 12-2, finishing in five innings.
Sidney Holman-Mansell, graduate pitcher from Belton, gained her ninth win of the season by creating five strikeouts and only allowing three hits.
ACU started off strong in the second inning with Sadie Eichelberger, junior outfielder from Tremonton, Utah, hitting a single up to the right field, sending in two runs. With two outs, Riley White, sophomore pitcher from Thorndale, singled down the third baseline, sending a run home to put the Wildcats up 3-0 at the end of the second inning.
“I think that it’s just showing a lot of growth in our offense,” head coach Abigail Farler said. “It is really starting to come around and we’re seeing production out of a lot of different kids right now.”
In the third inning, Logan Gaspar, freshman infielder from Kapolei, Hawaii, hit an RBI double to center field on two outs, sending a run home. At the next at-bat, Eichelberger once again hit a single up the left-field line, sending two runs home. Then in the fourth inning, an RBI single was created, bringing ACU to a score of 7-0.
With two outs and a blank count in the fifth inning, Calie Burris, graduate infielder from Haltom, hit a three-run home run to right field. Not too long after, Matti Reiling, sophomore infielder from Lincoln, Nebraska, hit a two-run home run down the left-field line, stopping ACU at 12 total runs. In the bottom of the fifth inning, Sam Houston was able to gain two runs, but the game shortly ended after the Wildcat’s run ruled the Bearkats, 12-2.
In game two, ACU gained the close win of 4-3, off of an RBI double in the seventh inning.
“I am really happy with how we came out with a lot of energy,” Farler said. “I think that set the tone in the first game with a lot of offensive production.”
White started for the Wildcats, creating two strikeouts over 4.2 innings. Holman-Mansell then came into close for ACU, gaining her tenth win.
The game went back and forth, with both ACU and Sam Houston gaining one run every inning. The Wildcats started off by gaining one run in the first inning, putting them up early. Not long after in the second inning, the Bearkats scored a run off of a single to right field to put them on the board.
In the top of the third inning, Burris homered for her second time this weekend to put the Wildcats ahead. Sam Houston started getting strong in the fifth inning where they gained two runs, putting them in front of ACU.
“The girls came out ready to compete, they came out really confident,” Farler said. “Calie had some monster home runs and that was fun to see from her.”
In the seventh inning, Eichelberger hit an RBI double to right-center field, sending the tying run home. In the next play, White doubled down the right-field line, giving ACU the winning run.
In game three on Saturday afternoon, the Wildcats lost a close battle to the Bearkats, 5-6.
Holman-Mansell received the loss by pitching four innings and was later relieved by Hannah Benavides, freshman pitcher from Deer Park, who closed out the game for the Wildcats.
“They really took advantage of our defensive misuses,” Farler said. “But our overall ability to fight back and stay in the ball game until the very last out, I was proud.”
In the second inning, Sam Houston started off with a solo home run putting them ahead early. In the third inning, the Wildcats were able to score on a fielding error, tying up the game. Not too long after in the bottom of the third, the Bearkats scored two runs on a fielder’s choice.
The fourth inning was a big inning for both teams. ACU was able to score two runs on a single to right field. While Sam Houston was given the opportunity to score on an error, they then gained three runs on a double down the left-field side, pushing them in front, 6-4.
ACU then gained one more run by a single up the middle but was unable to secure the win.
The Wildcats stay on the road and head to College Station where they will take on Texas A&M for a weekend series on Friday at 6 p.m., Saturday at 1 p.m. and Sunday at 12 p.m.
