Entering the bottom of the eighth inning Sunday afternoon, the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff baseball team seemed to be six outs away from earning its first win of the season.
Instead, Abilene Christian University rallied to defeat UAPB 14-11 and sweep the four-game series at Crutcher Scott Field in Abilene, Texas.
UAPB (0-12) led 11-8 midway through the eighth inning. The Golden Lions had scored in every inning but the second and eighth, and the Wildcats hadn’t scored since the fourth.
ACU (7-5) scored six runs, all of them unearned, in the bottom of the eighth to take the lead. Relief pitcher Emerson Lott, who entered the game to start the inning, struck out the first hitter he saw before hitting three batters with pitches and walking one. The one hitter to whom he didn’t issue a free base reached on an error.
Nate Monceaux (0-2) entered the game with the bases loaded and one out. He gave up a fielder’s choice to Benjamin Greer, who advanced to second on an error while two runs scored gave ACU the lead.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
The next hitter reached on UAPB’s third error of the inning, allowing Greer to score. Substitute first baseman Jack Nielsen added an RBI single for insurance before Monceaux ended the inning with a strikeout.
ACU reliever Caden Greanead (1-0) worked around a two-out walk to pitch a scoreless ninth inning and end the game. Greanead pitched 3.0 innings, allowing one run on four hits with two walks and four strikeouts.
UAPB first baseman Ben VanMaanen led the Golden Lions with 3 RBI on 2 of 5 hitting, with designated hitter Vinny Saumell and second baseman Jesus Riera adding 2 RBI each. UAPB used seven pitchers, who combined to issue 13 walks and hit five batters with four strikeouts.
Greer led ACU with 3 RBI, while Arias scored 3 runs with 2 RBI.
ACU 9, UAPB 7 (Sat.)
ACU clinched the series late Saturday by winning the second game of a doubleheader.
UAPB scored two runs in the top of the eighth inning to tie the game at 7. VanMaanen hit an RBI double, then Brant Voth reached on an error while center fielder Eli Gries-Smith scored.
The Wildcats answered in the bottom half with shortstop Zandt Payne and second baseman Nick Arias hitting back-to-back RBI doubles to restore ACU’s lead.
Saumell and Dane Small led off the top of the ninth with singles before VanMaanen singled with two outs. ACU reliever Brady Coe (2-0) got a called strike three on a 2-2 pitch to leave the bases loaded and end the game.
Voth finished the game at designated hitter after pitching the first 5.0 innings. He allowed seven runs, three of them earned, on eight hits with two walks and two strikeouts. UAPB was again haunted by errors, committing four in the game.