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Contributed by: ACU Athletic Communications
ABILENE - Sophomore Brianna Barnhill's sixth home run of the spring gave Abilene Christian softball a 3-0, first-inning lead and the Wildcats went on to sweep a three-game series from Incarnate Word behind a 7-4 victory Saturday afternoon at Poly Wells Field.
The victory lifted ACU's season and Southland Conference records to 16-17 and 10-5, while the Cardinals fell to 14-23 and 5-10.
Barnhill's blast off starter Kristin Hebert went over the right-field wall and across Ambler Avenue, scoring Taylor Brown and Peyton Hedrick. That hit also chased Hebert from the game after just four batters faced.
Darianne Hale pitched the remainder of the game and gave up four more runs (three earned) over the next 5.2 innings.
The Wildcats' pushed their lead out to 4-0 vs. Hale in the bottom of the second on a throwing error by the Cardinals' catcher, and held onto the lead in the third as UIW scored three times on four hits.
Freshman starter Allison Turner retired the first batter she faced that frame, but then gave up three straight singles followed by a fly out and a hit by pitch. With two outs, third baseman Shelbi Swenson drove in two runs on a single to right field, cutting the Wildcats' lead to one at 4-3, and the coaching staff opted to bring in Hannah Null for the third time in three games.
Null escaped the third-inning jam on a comebacker and retired nine of the first 10 batters she faced with five strikeouts mixed in. The Cardinals gave Null a slight headache in the seventh with Danielle Ramirez stealing second and scoring on a double to left by Natali Duron, but with the runner in scoring position she got a pop up and two ground balls to win her second game of the series.
Null is now 9-8 on the season.
ACU scored three times in support of Null between the fourth and fifth innings. A fourth-inning bases-loaded single by Hedrick made it 6-3 game, and in the fifth inning, Alli Spivey scored from third base on Miranda Herron's fly ball to right field.
Hedrick completed the UIW series with a .500 batting average and six RBI.
The Wildcats conclude their five-game homestand Tuesday with a 6 p.m. doubleheader vs. Hardin-Simmons.
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ABILENE - Sophomore Brianna Barnhill's sixth home run of the spring gave Abilene Christian softball a 3-0, first-inning lead and the Wildcats went on to sweep a three-game series from Incarnate Word behind a 7-4 victory Saturday afternoon at Poly Wells Field.
The victory lifted ACU's season and Southland Conference records to 16-17 and 10-5, while the Cardinals fell to 14-23 and 5-10.
Barnhill's blast off starter Kristin Hebert went over the right-field wall and across Ambler Avenue, scoring Taylor Brown and Peyton Hedrick. That hit also chased Hebert from the game after just four batters faced.
Darianne Hale pitched the remainder of the game and gave up four more runs (three earned) over the next 5.2 innings.
The Wildcats' pushed their lead out to 4-0 vs. Hale in the bottom of the second on a throwing error by the Cardinals' catcher, and held onto the lead in the third as UIW scored three times on four hits.
Freshman starter Allison Turner retired the first batter she faced that frame, but then gave up three straight singles followed by a fly out and a hit by pitch. With two outs, third baseman Shelbi Swenson drove in two runs on a single to right field, cutting the Wildcats' lead to one at 4-3, and the coaching staff opted to bring in Hannah Null for the third time in three games.
Null escaped the third-inning jam on a comebacker and retired nine of the first 10 batters she faced with five strikeouts mixed in. The Cardinals gave Null a slight headache in the seventh with Danielle Ramirez stealing second and scoring on a double to left by Natali Duron, but with the runner in scoring position she got a pop up and two ground balls to win her second game of the series.
Null is now 9-8 on the season.
ACU scored three times in support of Null between the fourth and fifth innings. A fourth-inning bases-loaded single by Hedrick made it 6-3 game, and in the fifth inning, Alli Spivey scored from third base on Miranda Herron's fly ball to right field.
Hedrick completed the UIW series with a .500 batting average and six RBI.
The Wildcats conclude their five-game homestand Tuesday with a 6 p.m. doubleheader vs. Hardin-Simmons.
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