Tournament Central | Live Stats
WARRENSBURG, Mo. – The ACU Wildcats begin their quest for the program's second NCAA Division II South Central Region baseball championship Thursday afternoon, and they'll do it against a familiar foe in the St. Mary's Rattlers.
The Wildcats enter the regional tournament at 46-13, the second-most wins in a single season in school history behind only the 47 wins the 2007 team posted. ACU is ranked No. 7 in the country and won the Lone Star Conference regular-season and post-season tournament championships. The Wildcats won their only regional title in 2003 when they beat Delta State in Cleveland, Miss., for the championship. ACU is making its third straight regional tournament appearance, ninth in head coach
Britt Bonneau's 14-year tenure and 10th overall since 1996.
The Rattlers, meanwhile, are 39-17 on the season and ranked No. 30 in the country. St. Mary's won the regular-season championship in the Heartland Conference, but lost each of its first two games in the conference tournament, leaving its post-season fate up to the NCAA Division II selection committee. The Rattlers won the South Central Region and NCAA National Championship in 2001. St. Mary's last went to the South Central Region Tournament in 2004.
The No. 2 seed Wildcats and No. 5 seed Rattlers play the first game of the tournament at noon Thursday with the winner advancing to the winner's bracket game Friday at 7 p.m. against the winner of the game between No. 3 Emporia State and No. 4 Incarnate Word. The loser of the ACU-St. Mary's game will play at noon Friday against the loser of the game between top-seeded Central Missouri and No. 6 seed Nebraska-Omaha. All of ACU's games throughout the tournament will be broadcast live on KSLI 1280 AM in Abilene.
The Wildcats are led offensively by junior centerfielder and leadoff hitter Aaron Oliver, the LSC MVP in 2010 and the MVP of the LSC Championship Tournament last week in Abilene. Oliver enters Wednesday's game hitting .402 with 11 home runs and 57 RBI to go along with 24 stolen bases in 26 attempts. Oliver was a one-man wrecking crew in the conference tournament as he hit .412 (7 for 17) with nine runs scored, one triple, three home runs and eight RBI.
ACU also has a trio of sluggers in designated hitter Will Calhoun (.411, 11 HR, 51 RBI), first baseman Bret Bochsler (.384, 8 HR, 50 RBI) and right fielder Travis Latz (.369, 11 HR, 51 RBI) who have helped carry the Wildcat offense.
Senior righthander (5-1, 1.48 ERA) and Josh Crockett (6-1, 2.47 ERA) in front of closer Brad Rutherford (3-2, 2.06 ERA, 10 saves and 44 strikeouts in 48 innings of work).
The Rattlers are led by Ryan Morrow, a first team all-Heartland Conference selection this season. Morrow is hitting .375 with 13 doubles, 14 homeruns, 64 RBI and 53 runs scored. Defensively, he has a .981 fielding percentage and has thrown out 19 of 41 potential base stealers. James Hipp leads the team with a .392 average, 11 doubles, 4 homeruns, 40 RBI and 65 runs scored.
On the mound, Alfonso Maldonado is 8-5, but has a 2.70 ERA, with 10 complete games and 2 shutouts. He has thrown a total of 96.2 innings, striking out 92. Matt Holland is 10-3 with a 4.21 ERA, 6 complete games and 69 strikeouts in 92.0 innings of work. Sammy Rivas has worked his way into the closer's role for the Rattlers and is 3-1 with 4 saves and 30 strikeouts in 31.2 innings.
