The Wildcats traveled to Orem, Utah to take on Utah Valley, resulting in a weekend sweep, 0-3.
With the conclusion of this series, ACU is still looking to get its momentum down with a 9-27 overall record and a 3-6 conference record. While the Wildcats have a 5-6 home record, they fail to hold the confidence on the road with a 0-12 away record and a 4-9 neutral record.
Going into this matchup, the competition seemed to be even with Utah Valley only having six wins and 18 losses. Yet, they were able to pull out a tough competition against ACU to allow them nine wins.
On Friday, the Wildcats suffered a close loss in the seventh inning, 3-4.
The game started out with a scoreless two innings until the Wolverines secured two runs on an RBI single and an error made by ACU. In the next inning, the Wildcats were able to answer back with two home runs by junior catcher Avery Miloch and red-shirt freshman pitcher Bubba Rote pulling ahead the score, 3-2.
The score held until the bottom of the sixth when Utah Valley tied the score on a fielder’s choice. The Wildcats were unable to even out the score ending the top of the seventh inning, while the Wolverines were able to gain the winning run on an RBI double, securing the win, 4-3.
Junior pitcher Talia Nielsen held the mound for 6.2 innings for the Wildcats marking one strikeout and zero walks against 27 batters faced.
On Saturday, the Wildcats and Wolverines faced a double-header, with the first game resulting in a Wildcat loss, 4-10.
In the bottom of the first inning, Utah Valley pulled out ahead by a solid lead, 3-0, with base-by-base plays. In the next three innings, the Wolverines were not able to gain any more runs while the Wildcats were able to slowly tie the lead by gaining one run an inning. Going into the fifth inning, the score was tied 3-3 but not for long.
In the bottom of the fifth inning, Utah Valley pulled out ahead on a single up the middle, pushing the Wolverines up by five to end the fifth. In the sixth inning, the Wildcats and Wolverines were able to both score once more, bringing the final score to 4-10.
Nielsen started on the mound for the Wildcats but graduate pitcher Lauren Schieck took over for the majority of the game, recording two strikeouts and allowing no walks against 15 batters.
In the second game on Saturday, the Wildcats fell in the final game of the series, 2-7.
In the first inning, both teams were able to tally a run and it wasn’t until the fourth inning that Utah Valley was able to pull ahead by two runs. In the fifth inning, ACU was able to bring in the lead by one but the Wolverines ran away with it by five in the sixth inning, pushing the final score to 7-2.
Junior pitcher Riley White started on the mound for ACU pitching 3.1 innings, marking one strikeout and three walks against 17 batters. Rote and Schiek came in after White, tallying one strikeout and one walk between the two.
The Wildcats take on their next Western Athletic Conference opponent, Tarleton, this weekend, holding a doubleheader at 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. on Friday and 1 p.m. on Saturday at Poly Wells Field. The games on Friday will be streaming on ESPN+.
Quotes will be added following head coach Abigail Farler’s next press conference.
