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Contributed by: Lance Fleming, ACU Associate Director of Athletics for Media Relations
FORT WORTH - At some point, the ACU Wildcats are going to break through and get a win against a nationally ranked opponent. Until they do, they'll have to settle for the moral victories that come with close losses.
The Wildcats - in their third year of transition to NCAA Division I affiliation - posted another one of those dreaded moral victories Tuesday night as they dropped a 6-4 decision to No. 7 TCU in a non-conference game at Lupton Stadium. In the last two seasons the Wildcats have lost by one run to #1 Texas A&M, #2 TCU, #5 Texas Tech (twice) and now they have a two-run loss to #7 TCU on their resume.
TCU jumped out to a 6-0 lead after the first inning, but, amazingly, the Wildcats can look back on the loss as one that could have been turned into a win if not for a couple of plays in the first inning. That's because all six runs in the bottom of the first were unearned against starting pitcher Nate Cole, who deserved a better fate than to be tagged with the loss.
In the bottom of the first, Cam Warner reached on an error by ACU third baseman Aaron Draper, stole second and then went to third when Connor Wanhanen tapped a ball out in front of the plate and reached safely when ACU catcher Alex Copeland threw late to third base trying to get the lead runner.
Luken Baker then singled sharply past Draper to drive Warner with the game's first run. After a groundout and a hit by pitch, Cole gave up a two-out, two-strike, two-run single to Ryan Merrill to make it a 3-0 game. With runners at the corners, Dane Steinhagen launched a 1-1 fastball deep over the wall in left field to give the Horned Frogs a 6-0 lead.
"We fell behind in the first inning on an error and another play we should've made, and you just can't do that against a good team like TCU and expect to win," ACU head coach Britt Bonneau said.
But Cole returned to the mound for the second inning and silenced the Horned Frogs' offense, just as he did in the third and fourth innings. That's when Bonneau turned the game over to his bullpen, and the four guys who took the mound - Zach Kornely, Caleb Dougherty, Collin Dudley and Drew Hanson - responded. They allowed just three TCU baserunners over the final four innings of the game, facing only those three batters over the minimum.
"Our bullpen was great (Tuesday night)," Bonneau said. "It was good for that group to come back and have a strong performance after a tough weekend against Southeastern Louisiana."
That bullpen performance allowed the Wildcats to try and get back into the game, which they did in the sixth and seventh innings. ACU entered the game with just three home runs on the season, but nearly doubled that total in two innings.
Pinch-hitter Austin Call got the Wildcats on the scoreboard in the top of the sixth when he drilled a 1-1 pitch from starting pitcher Dalton Horton over the wall in left field to cut the TCU lead to 6-1. The Wildcats got themselves right back in the thick of the game in the top of the seventh when Copeland led off with a double down the left field line and went to third on a single to left by freshman first baseman David Ruot. Then Kyle Carroll tomahawked a 1-0 pitch from Horton over the wall in left for three-run home run, cutting the TCU lead to 6-4.
But TCU's bullpen then took over the game, allowing just hits and no runs in three innings of work to finish it off. Freshman closer Durbin Feltman struck the side in the top of the ninth to finish it off, featuring a 98 mph fastball mixed in with an unhittable 89 mph slider.
"I hope we learned some things tonight playing in front of a big crowd under the lights," Bonneau said. "You have to make the plays that are there in front of you to have a chance to win games like this. Still, we showed some fight tonight and that should help us down the road in Southland Conference play."
The Wildcats (9-11 overall) will return to Southland play Thursday when they open a three-game series against McNeese State in Lake Charles, La.
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FORT WORTH - At some point, the ACU Wildcats are going to break through and get a win against a nationally ranked opponent. Until they do, they'll have to settle for the moral victories that come with close losses.
The Wildcats - in their third year of transition to NCAA Division I affiliation - posted another one of those dreaded moral victories Tuesday night as they dropped a 6-4 decision to No. 7 TCU in a non-conference game at Lupton Stadium. In the last two seasons the Wildcats have lost by one run to #1 Texas A&M, #2 TCU, #5 Texas Tech (twice) and now they have a two-run loss to #7 TCU on their resume.
TCU jumped out to a 6-0 lead after the first inning, but, amazingly, the Wildcats can look back on the loss as one that could have been turned into a win if not for a couple of plays in the first inning. That's because all six runs in the bottom of the first were unearned against starting pitcher Nate Cole, who deserved a better fate than to be tagged with the loss.
In the bottom of the first, Cam Warner reached on an error by ACU third baseman Aaron Draper, stole second and then went to third when Connor Wanhanen tapped a ball out in front of the plate and reached safely when ACU catcher Alex Copeland threw late to third base trying to get the lead runner.
Luken Baker then singled sharply past Draper to drive Warner with the game's first run. After a groundout and a hit by pitch, Cole gave up a two-out, two-strike, two-run single to Ryan Merrill to make it a 3-0 game. With runners at the corners, Dane Steinhagen launched a 1-1 fastball deep over the wall in left field to give the Horned Frogs a 6-0 lead.
"We fell behind in the first inning on an error and another play we should've made, and you just can't do that against a good team like TCU and expect to win," ACU head coach Britt Bonneau said.
But Cole returned to the mound for the second inning and silenced the Horned Frogs' offense, just as he did in the third and fourth innings. That's when Bonneau turned the game over to his bullpen, and the four guys who took the mound - Zach Kornely, Caleb Dougherty, Collin Dudley and Drew Hanson - responded. They allowed just three TCU baserunners over the final four innings of the game, facing only those three batters over the minimum.
"Our bullpen was great (Tuesday night)," Bonneau said. "It was good for that group to come back and have a strong performance after a tough weekend against Southeastern Louisiana."
That bullpen performance allowed the Wildcats to try and get back into the game, which they did in the sixth and seventh innings. ACU entered the game with just three home runs on the season, but nearly doubled that total in two innings.
Pinch-hitter Austin Call got the Wildcats on the scoreboard in the top of the sixth when he drilled a 1-1 pitch from starting pitcher Dalton Horton over the wall in left field to cut the TCU lead to 6-1. The Wildcats got themselves right back in the thick of the game in the top of the seventh when Copeland led off with a double down the left field line and went to third on a single to left by freshman first baseman David Ruot. Then Kyle Carroll tomahawked a 1-0 pitch from Horton over the wall in left for three-run home run, cutting the TCU lead to 6-4.
But TCU's bullpen then took over the game, allowing just hits and no runs in three innings of work to finish it off. Freshman closer Durbin Feltman struck the side in the top of the ninth to finish it off, featuring a 98 mph fastball mixed in with an unhittable 89 mph slider.
"I hope we learned some things tonight playing in front of a big crowd under the lights," Bonneau said. "You have to make the plays that are there in front of you to have a chance to win games like this. Still, we showed some fight tonight and that should help us down the road in Southland Conference play."
The Wildcats (9-11 overall) will return to Southland play Thursday when they open a three-game series against McNeese State in Lake Charles, La.
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