ABILENE -- Forced to play the rare tripleheader on Sunday because of poor weather conditions on Saturday, the 11th-ranked ACU Wildcats figured if they had to be at Crutcher Scott Field all day they might as well go ahead and win all three games.
And so they did just that as the Wildcats punched out Eastern New Mexico by the scores of 15-5, 12-5 and 13-3. The three wins push ACU to 22-7 overall and 14-7 in the LSC, while the Greyhounds fall to 14-15 and 12-12.
ACU will be back in action Tuesday at Texas-Permian Basin before returning to LSC action next weekend when it hosts Angelo State in a four-game set at Crutcher Scott Field. The series will get started Friday with a 3:05 p.m. doubleheader and will conclude Saturday with another doubleheader
starting at 3:05 p.m.
The Wildcats hammered out 50 hits, including seven home runs, and scored 40 runs en route to winning two games by the 10-run rule. In fact, neither of the two scheduled nine-inning games made it to the ninth inning as ACU won the first game of the day after seven innings and took the series finale with via the run rule with two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning.
Centerfielder
Aaron Oliver was the catalyst for the offensive outburst as he finished the tripleheader 9 for 14 with six runs scored, two doubles, two home runs and seven RBI. Bret Bochsler had eight hits and
Ian Tomkins and Will Calhoun each had seven hits. Calhoun also had two home runs and six RBI, while Bochsler had one home run and five RBI, and
Abe Williams and
Travis Latz each had a home run and three RBI on the day.
Here is a brief recap of each game of the tripleheader:
GAME ONE
Abilene Christian 15, Eastern New Mexico 5 -- This game started at 10 a.m. Sunday as the resumption of the game halted Friday night by lightning and rain. After scoring a run in the first, the Wildcats exploded for eight runs on eight hits in the second inning.
Oliver and Uechi each had RBI singles in the inning before Calhoun had a two-run double and Bochsler a two-run home run to right field. ACU added another run in the third before scoring two more in the
fourth. The Wildcats ended the game with three runs in the seventh.
Steve Camillucci singled up the middle to drive in Latz with the game-ending run.
Calhoun went all seven innings on the mound, scattering eight hits and striking out five batters to improve to 3-1 on the season.
GAME TWO
Abilene Christian 12, Eastern New Mexico 5 -- Trailing 3-2 through three innings of a scheduled seven-inning affair, the Wildcats took the lead in the bottom of the fourth on a three-run bomb by Oliver, his second round-tripper of the season.
ACU tacked on four more runs in the fifth when Calhoun had a solo home run in the fifth and Williams drove in three with a home run to left field. The Wildcats then scored three more runs in the sixth with
Cameron Watten driving in a pair of runs with a single to centerfield.
Zach Sneed went five innings -- scattering five hits and striking out one batter -- to pick up the win for the Wildcats as he improved to 5-0.
GAME THREE
Abilene Christian 13, Eastern New Mexico 3 -- The Wildcats once again rallied, using the big inning to take control of a close game. ACU scored four runs in the fifth on a two-run triple by
Clint Bowker and a two-run homer by Latz to go ahead 5-3.
ACU scored another run in the sixth and two runs in the seventh to make it an 8-3 game. ACU then
ended it via the run rule with five runs in the eighth.
Sky Valenzuela, Oliver and Uechi each had RBI singles before Calhoun ended it on the run rule when he blasted a two-run homer deep over the centerfield wall.
Aaron Lambrix gave up nine hits and three runs over 5 1/3 innings of work to get the win and improve to 4-0 for ACU.
Chay Lytle and
Josh Crockett pitched 2 2/3 innings of scoreless relief for the Wildcats.
