ABILENE – The ACU Wildcats kept their post-season hopes alive Saturday with a doubleheader sweep of Northeastern State in Lone Star Conference baseball action at Crutcher Scott Field.
The Wildcats took the first game 11-5 before coming back to win the second game 12-6. ACU is now 17-11 overall and 10-8 in the LSC, while the RiverHawks fall to 3-23 and 2-19.
The Wildcats are tied with West Texas A&M for eighth place in the LSC standings with only the top six at the end of the regular season qualifying for the conference tournament, which will once again be played at Scott Field, May 7-10. ACU will be back on the field next weekend against 10th-place Central Oklahoma in a three-game series at Wendell Simmons Field in Edmond, Okla.
In the first game Saturday,
Brent Bray gave the Wildcats some effective work out of the bullpen after starter
Kris Carlson gave up five hits and four runs in 1 2/3 innings. But Bray came on and gave up just five hits and one run over 3 2/3 innings to stem the tide, get the Wildcats the lead and pick up the win.
ACU scored twice in the third to tame a 6-4 lead, then added three more in the fourth and two more in the fifth to push the lead to 11-5.
Abe Williams hit a three-run home run in the first inning – his third of the season – and he finished with five RBI.
Reed Watson had two hits and two RBI, while
Aaron Oliver had three hits, three runs scored and one RBI.
In the second game, the Wildcats jumped all over starting pitcher Blake Cantrell and reliever Brandon Compton. The Wildcats scored five times in the first, three times in the second and three times in the third to take an 11-5 lead after three innings.
Oliver again had three hits to go along with two runs scored and three RBI. ACU relief pitcher
Kevin Justice struck out seven RiverHawks and scattered four hits over three innings to pick up the win and improve to 2-2.
Sky Valenzuela – who pitched effectively in the first game – struck out one batter in one innings before giving way to
Zach Sneed, who gave up just one hit and struck out three in the final two innings.
