After five seasons, the softball team announced they would undergo a coaching change. Former head coach Abigail Farler finishes her tenure at ACU with a 78-144 record.

The team went 16-32 in her final season while missing the Western Athletic Conference tournament for the second consecutive year after falling to Grand Canyon University last weekend. 

In the first game of Friday’s doubleheader, sophomore outfielder Olivia Marble led the game with a home run. Unfortunately for the Wildcats, that would be the lone run they scored in game one. Game one was a pitcher’s duel, as the Wildcats only tacked on two hits through the rest of the game. GCU would take game one, scoring two runs on six hits.

The second game had a much different feel. After both teams went scoreless through the first three innings, the Antelopes got the ball rolling with a four-run fourth inning. ACU began the fifth inning with a single from Marble that allowed graduate shortstop Skylar Padgett to score. ACU tacked on five additional runs in the fifth inning to take a 6-4 lead.

It wasn’t long before GCU regained the lead with a six-run outburst in the bottom of the fifth. Alongside a three-run sixth inning, consistent hitting and solid defense propelled GCU to a 13-8 win in the second game of the series.

The Wildcats were in a must-win situation going into game three. GCU came out swinging, scoring nine runs through the first three innings. ACU answered in the fourth with a two-run home run from senior catcher Avery Miloch.

GCU added a run in the fourth, giving them an eight-run lead, which they maintained through five innings, ending game three in a run-rule.

ACU athletics said the search for new leadership would begin immediately.