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Contributed by ACU Athletics Communications
ABILENE, Texas - Senior catcher Cara Hoover launched a home run as part of a 3-for-4, four RBI day at the plate in leading Abilene Christian softball to a 9-3 season finale victory over Houston Baptist Saturday at Poly Wells Field.
In the final game of her collegiate career, the Azle, Texas, native homered in the second inning to give ACU a 2-0 lead. She later singled home the Wildcats' third run, hit and scored a run as part of a five-run fifth, and drove in ACU's ninth run on a ground ball to shortstop in her last at-bat in the sixth inning.
Hoover's senior classmate and fellow four-year starter Demi McNulty also contributed offensively, reaching base three times, stealing a base and scoring one run. Senior pitcher Julia Montoya was called into the game late in the fifth as a pinch hitter for Taylor Brown with the Wildcats comfortably ahead at 8-2.
Today's win gave ACU its second consecutive sweep of HBU as the Wildcats finished with an overall record of 26-21 and a third-place Southland Conference mark of 19-8. ACU was picked to finish sixth in the league's preseason coaches' poll but exceeded its expectations by winning seven of nine conference series with sweeps of Southeastern Louisiana, Incarnate Word and HBU.
Junior Casey-May Huff started and won her fifth game of the spring despite giving up seven base hits through four innings. She stranded five runners through the first three innings, but in the fourth she surrendered a leadoff home run to left fielder Nicole Shedd.
Huff began the fifth but was yanked in favor of Hannah Null after the Huskies' No. 1 and 2 batters both reached on infield singles.
Null allowed on run on a fly ball to center that cut ACU's lead to 3-2 but was able to get out of the inning with strikeout of Cecilia Bauer. Null went on to strike out the side in the sixth and gave up three hits in the seventh before getting the final two outs on a pop up and ground ball to third base.
Null finished the HBU series with a 2-0 record, one save and an ERA of 1.05 with 12 Ks in 13.1 innings pitched.
After HBU cut its deficit to one run, ACU responded with five runs on six hits in its half of the fifth inning. Brown started the frame by reaching on an error and McNulty, Peyton Hedrick, Hoover and Brianna Barnhill all followed with singles.
A two-out single by Huff made it a 6-2 ball game, and then No. 9 hitter Alli Spivey drilled a two-run single to center that plated both Hoover and Barnhill.
Huff finished today 3-for-3 with an RBI, while Hedrick added a double off the wall in center field in the sixth to go 2-for-4 with two runs and a RBI.
Hoover's efforts at the plate this weekend gave her a season batting average of .301. Brown led the team with a .353 average, 17 stolen bases and seven triples, while Hedrick finished second in hitting at .331 with 12 home runs, 37 RBI and 12 stolen bases.
As a team, ACU batted .270 through 47 games and its pitching staff posted a 3.55 ERA. Null won 15 of the Wildcats' 26 games, struck out 125 batters, tossed two shutouts including a no-hitter of Arkansas-Pine Bluff and registered a 2.87 ERA.
The Wildcats started the year 2-10 and after losing consecutive series at McNeese and Central Arkansas, they finished the spring by winning 13 of their last 17 games. ACU also beat Tulsa this season, 2-1, in Austin, and started conference play at 5-1 with series wins over Southeastern and Lamar.
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