Last weekend ACU Softball played in the Aggie Classic tournament, playing against No. 7 Texas A&M, No. 19 Baylor, Purdue, Villanova and Utah State.
They started off the schedule playing No. 19 ranked Baylor. After the Wildcats batted in the top of the third inning, the score was 2-3, but that’s the closest the game would be with a final score of 2-10.
On Friday they played Utah State and Villanova. Against Utah State, ACU had the lead for four innings with a score of 3-0 going into the top of the fifth, but Utah State went on a run and scored 8 runs in the fifth and one in the seventh, the Wildcats losing 3-9.
Against Villanova entering the top of the sixth, ACU was down 5-10, but the game wasn’t over yet. the Wildcats would score three more runs, almost making the comeback with a final score of 8-10 Villanova.
On Saturday the team faced Purdue and No. 7 ranked Texas A&M. Purdue took control early in the game with four runs in the opening inning, two in the second, and adding on five more in the third, finishing 0-11 with a run rule.
Against No. 7 Texas A&M, the Wildcats faced off in a pitching battle with ACU’s Lina Russo’s great performance, allowing only four hits and two strikeouts, keeping Texas A&M’s batters at bay. Texas A&M scored the game’s only run in the fourth inning with a double to left-centerfield.
Lina Russo, senior pitcher from Cardiff-by-the-Sea, California, said the key to her great performance was playing in the moment.
“I really just tried to have fun with it and soak it in,” she said. “Playing against a big team like that, it’s a very fun atmosphere with all the fans in the stands.”
With a final score of 0-1 to the seventh-best team in the nation, Head Coach Jo Koons said, “I know our athletes wanted to play on the big stage… we can go out there and compete with anyone in the country… knowing that it doesn’t matter who we’re up against as long as we stay true to who we are.”.
This weekend the Wildcats will be at the Lion Invitational in Commerce, TX, where they’ll face Iowa, Rutgers, East Texas A&M and Southern Illinois-Edwardsville.
