HUNTSVILLE — Sam Houston just missed out on a doubleheader sweep of Abilene Christian in the first two games of a Western Athletic Conference series at Bearkat Softball Complex on Friday.
The Bearkats (20-31, 10-10 WAC) got a clutch home run in the opener to win a pitchers' duel 2-0. Sam Houston appeared on the verge of winning the second game, but the Wildcats scratched across two runs in the seventh to steal a 7-6 victory.
The rubber match is set for Saturday at noon.
Sam Houston 2, Abilene Christian 0
Emma Guindon tossed seven shutout innings, and
Hannah Scheaffer came up with the big hit to back her in a 2-0 win in game one of the doubleheader.
Guindon and Wildcat starter Taylor Neilsen went head-to-head for five innings with neither offense being able to push across a run. The Bearkats finally struck in the bottom of the sixth to give Guindon all the help she needed.
Brodie Quinlan reached on a throwing error by the shortstop with two outs. That brought Scheaffer to the plate, and she made ACU pay for the mistake when she floated a towering fly ball to left that just cleared the wall for what would prove to be the game winning run.
Guindon pitched a perfect seventh to earn the victory. She scattered three hits over seven frames with five strikeouts and one walk.
Abilene Christian 7, Sam Houston 6
The second game of the doubleheader was full of action as Abilene Christian rallied in the seventh to hand Sam Houston a 7-6 loss.
The Bearkats were trailing 5-4 heading into the bottom of the sixth inning when
Emily Telg turned the game around with a two-run home run to left center field. As she came around to score, she was mobbed by her teammates at home plate.
The celebration didn't last long as the Wildcats took advantage of an error to tie the game and took the lead on an RBI single to right. Sam Houston couldn't rekindle the first game magic and went down in order in the seventh.
Brodie Quinlan and
Ellie Grill each had RBI singles, and
Elia Hebel added a sacrifice fly to account for the Bearkats other runs.
