Baseball battles #14 Texas on Wednesday night in Austin

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AUSTIN The ACU baseball team is headed to the state capital to take on the No. 19 Texas Longhorns on Wednesday night. This is the second-ranked game of the season for the Wildcats (24-11), who are in the middle of the toughest part of their schedule this spring. ACU has a 1-3 week and will battle Texas (26-12), which is up five spots in the Top 25 from last week. This will be the fifth matchup with the Longhorns, with all five coming in Austin, and the teams will meet for the first time since a three-game series during the 2021 season. First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 p.m., Wednesday, April 19, and the game will be televised on the Longhorn Network and radio on the ACU Sports Network.

Game No. 36
ACU (24-11,9-6WAC) at #14 TEXAS (25-12, 7-4 BIG 12)

Wednesday, April 19| 18.30 | UFCU Disch-Falk Field (6,649)
Projected starters: RHP Blake Anderson (4-2, 5.60 ERA) vs. RHP Kobe Minchey (1-0, 0.00 ERA)
See: Longhorn Network
Listen: ACU Sports Network, ACUSports.com/Listen, The Varsity Network app
Live statistics | Bunting

SEE ACU

The Wildcats enter the week with a record of 24-11 and 9-6 in WAC play. ACU has dropped five of its last seven games, including a 1-3 week at home last week. The Wildcats lost to #25 TCU 7-5 before dropping two of three against Grand Canyon over the weekend. ACU won a wild game 16-14 to open the series against Lopes, but GCU won game two 14-2 and game three 6-4, the latter in 12 innings. ACU opens a four-game road trip this week at #14 Texas and wraps it up with a three-game weekend series in Edinburg at UTRGV.

SOUTING #14 TEXAS

Texas enters the week with a record of 26-12 and 8-4 in Big 12 play. The Longhorns have moved up five spots in this week’s rankings and are now No. 14 in the nation.Texas went 3-2 last week with a 5-2 win over Texas State last Monday, followed by a 9-3 home loss to the same Bobcats the next night. The Longhorns then went to Baylor and held on for an 11-9 win in the first game before allowing five in the ninth in a 10-9 loss on Saturday. Texas bounced back with a 7-6 win on Sunday to clinch the series, and now the team opens a five-game homestand Wednesday with ACU before battling at Oklahoma for a three-game set this weekend. Texas is led in several offensive categories by Peyton Powell (.341 avg, .443 obp, .587 slg), while Porter Brown paces the team in RBI with 34. Five players have at least six homers this season. The pitching staff has a remarkable 3.76 team ERA this season.

WITHIN THE SERIES

All-Time Series: 5th Meeting (Texas leads, 4-0)
Last Meeting: #3 Texas 11, ACU 1 (7) (April 18, 2021 – Austin)
Pipe: Texas, w4
In Abilene: n/a
At Austin: Texas leads 4-0
Neutral site: n/a
Postseason: n/a

THIS WEEKEND AGAINST THE GRAND CANYON

ACU won the marathon Friday night against Lopes, 16-14, a game that featured 34 hits and nine different pitchers. GCU Lead defeated the Wildcats, 14-2, in eight innings Saturday as Daniel Avitia went the distance with a complete game. ACU then had several chances in the final on Sunday, but GCU prevailed in 12 innings, 6-4, leaving ACU tied for home in the 12th with no outs.

HISTORY FOR TWEEDT

Catcher Tanner Tweed had a great game Friday night against Grand Canyon. The senior hit three home runs and collected nine RBIs in the game, either tying or breaking single-game records at ACU. Three homers tie his teammates Logan Britt, who did so against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on the 31st. March, against Luis Treviño in 2019 against New Orleans and Joel Wells in 2006 against Tarleton. The nine RBI tied a record previously held Colton eager (2021 vs. Arkansas State) and Matt McGuire (2007 vs. Southeast Oklahoma State), who both had eight.

TATROW AT THE PEAK
Grayson Tatrow has hit 38 career home runs at ACU and stands alone atop the record books. No one has hit more in a career in Wildcat history, and Tatrow is only halfway through his third season at ACU.

LATE-INNING HEROICS
Maddox Man has been a dramatic flare so far in his freshman campaign. The third baseman had a win over Oklahoma, a grand slam to top Southeast Missouri and a singles win over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on April 2.

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ACU is outscoring its opponents by an absurd 46-5 margin this season. Of ACU’s 41 home runs this season, eight have occurred in the fifth inning, making the sixth inning the most common this season in that stat.

EYE ON THE BOUNDARIES
Logan Britt leads ACU with a 10-game hitting streak, and his 14-game hitting streak is the team’s best at the moment as well. Tanner Tweed has reached base in seven straight games Bash Randle has hit in five straight games.

THE GAME RUNNING TEXAS TECH RETHINKED

ACU’s game at Texas Tech was originally scheduled for Tuesday, April 4, but due to inclement weather and incredibly high winds, the game was postponed. The teams will now meet in Lubbock on Tuesday, May 9 at 6:30 p.m

PRE-SEASON VOTING / AWARDS

The Western Athletic Conference announced the preseason poll and all-conference selections for the upcoming season, and the Wildcats are tied for fourth in the 13-team league. Junior Bash Randle and seniors Grayson Tatrow and Tanner Tweed all were named to the all-conference list before the season as well. Grand Canyon was named the conference winner, followed by Sam Houston and California Baptist. ACU is tied with UTRGV and Sacramento State for fourth overall.

D1BASEBALL PRE-SEASON

D1Baseball released its preseason picks for the Western Athletic Conference, with ACU selected sixth in the league and Randle a preseason first-team all-WAC selection at second base. It also highlighted the top draft picks in the conference, and in the 2023 draft, Eichelberger was the sixth-best prospect in the league, while Texas A&M moved Logan Britt was ninth overall in the field. Morgan, who returned for his junior season, also finished 13th on the list. In the 2024 draft, Byrd was listed fourth overall. Tatrow was ranked No. 138 among the nation’s top 150 outfielders, and Randle was named preseason first-team all-conference. Randle returns as an all-conference selection for two consecutive years, while Tatrow was the Southland Rookie of the Year and second team in 2021.

BACK ONE BIG LEAGUE

The WAC will revert to a traditional format in 2023. All 13 teams are in the same standings and there is no division this season. There will be 30 league games against 10 of 12 possible opponents, and the 2023 WAC tournament begins May 24 in Mesa, Ariz.

ORDER ON A TIGHT SCHEDULE

The 2023 slate includes 55 games, including 30 Western Athletic Conference games (10 three-game series) and 25 non-conference games (four series and 11 singles). In all, the team hosted 35 times at Crutcher Scott Field, the most Rick McCarthy era. ACU will play 21 games against teams ranked in the top 100 in the RPI in 2022, nine games against Power 5 opponents (Oklahoma, TCU x2, Baylor x2, Nebraska, Texas Tech x2, Texas) and 14 games against 2022 regional teams vs. (Oklahoma, Southeast Missouri, Oral Roberts, TCU, Texas Tech, Texas, Grand Canyon). The slate includes the first five opponents (Southeast Missouri, Sacramento State, Nebraska, California Baptist, Utah Tech) and four home games against Power 5 opponents (Nebraska, TCU, Texas Tech, Baylor).

COACH

The head coach Rick McCarthy is in his fifth season as ACU’s head man and earned his 100th career win on opening day. He has 123 career wins at ACU, including a regular season championship and a tournament runner-up finish. McCarty ranks second in ACU’s all-time wins.