Last week, ACU baseball continued its historic season with a win against No. 9 Texas Tech in Lubbock and a sweep of Stephen F. Austin in Nacogdoches.
The Wildcats entered Lubbock on April 26, 19-20, having dropped two games to UTRGV that weekend. The Wildcats put together a valiant effort to down the Red Raiders on offense and defense.
The game versus Texas Tech started with a seven-spot top of the second for the Wildcats, led by an inside-the-park grand slam from junior outfielder Grayson Tatrow of Mansfield. This was the first grand slam this season for Tatrow, who made headlines across the college baseball world for his efforts.
The score was 7-2 after the second, with the Wildcats having to turn their efforts towards holding off a Red Raider team that ranks second in the country in runs scored. Sophomore left-handed pitcher Max Huffling would play hero for the Wildcats closing the game out with three innings of no-hit baseball striking out seven of nine batters faced.
The 8-5 win was the first for the Wildcats versus Texas Tech and the first for the Wildcats versus a top 10 opponent. This was the second win for the Wildcats versus a ranked opponent this season, the first time they have achieved that mark in history.
The series in Nacogdoches started with an 11-2 Wildcat win on the back of three RBI efforts from Tatrow and graduate infielder Hunter Gieser of Burleson. This would be the fourth win in a row for the Wildcats versus SFA, a streak they would not lose during that series.
Game two would be the same story for the Wildcats, with five different Wildcats driving in two runs apiece, ending in a 13-9 win. Game three also was a productive offensive outing for the Wildcats putting in ten runs to sweep the Lumberjacks.
One performance that stands out was junior left-handed pitcher Adam Stephenson of Southlake. Stephenson went 5.1 innings with five runs and two hits Saturday, his third two-run outing in a row.
This season, the Wildcats have three series remaining, heading to Stephenville this weekend to face the Tarleton Texans. The postseason for the Wildcats begins May 25th in the WAC conference tournament in Mesa, Ariz.
We were unable to receive comments from head coach Rick McCarty or players at this time.
