ACU Softball Sweeps Doubleheader
By: Lance Fleming
Updated: April 21, 2012
WICHITA
FALLS - The ACU Wildcats scored six runs in the second inning Saturday
afternoon as they knocked off Midwestern State, 8-3, to salvage the last
game of a Lone Star Conference softball series at
Mustangs Park.
The Mustangs won
the first game of Saturday's doubleheader, 7-0, to claim the series
victory. The Wildcats' win in the regular-season finale pushes them to
29-15 overall and 15-11 in the LSC, while the
Mustangs finish the regular season at 25-24 and 15-12.
Both teams have
qualified for the single-elimination Lone Star Conference Post-Season
Tournament, which will be played Friday and Saturday in Denton. ACU
will be the No. 5 seed in the eight-team field
and will play No. 4 seed West Texas A&M at 4:30 p.m. Friday. The
winner of that game will play the winner of Friday's game between No. 1
Angelo State and No. 8 Cameron in Saturday's 2:30 p.m. semifinal game.
The tournament championship game is set for 6 p.m.
After being
blanked in the first game on Saturday, the Wildcats wasted little time
in jumping on MSU starting pitcher Lindsi Glenn, pounding out nine hits
and six runs in just two innings. All of those
runs and eight of the hits came in the second inning when the Wildcats
took control of the contest.
Lyndi Smith led
off the second with a double, went to third on a wild pitch and then
scored the game's first run on an single by Erin Gilliland. Brianna
Fowlkes then homered to left-center on a 1-0 pitch
to make it 3-0.
Keanna Winkfield
and Madison Buckley then reached on back-to-back singles before a Sara
Vaughn drove in Winkfield with a double to make it 4-0. Courtney
Flanary singled to center to drive in Buckley for
a 5-0 ACU lead. Kim Briggs ended the scoring with a sacrifice fly to
center field that drove in Vaughn to make it 6-0.
ACU added another
run in the fourth on a Smith RBI single, and then scored one more time
in the fifth on Buckley's RBI double to center field.
Shelby Hall (5-2)
went the distance in the pitcher's circle, scattering 12 MSU hits over
seven innings, not allowing a walk and striking out two Mustangs.
In the opening
game of the doubleheader, MSU freshman pitcher Brenna Hennan delivered
her second shutout of the season, limiting the Wildcats to just six hits
and three walks over seven innings as she improved
to 6-10 on the season.
Caitlyn Crain
started for the Wildcats, but she gave up six hits and four runs (three
earned) in just 2 2/3 innings of work. Peyton Mosley gave up three runs
and four hits in 2 1/3 innings of work before
Hall finished up by throwing one inning of scoreless relief.
The Mustangs put
two runs on the board in the first inning, single runs up in the second,
third and fifth innings, and then two more in the sixth inning.
