SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS – A pitching gem from Aaron Mason led Abilene Christian University to a 1-0 shutout of the University of the Incarnate Word baseball team in game two of the Southland Conference series on Saturday at Sullivan Field.
Originally scheduled for a one o'clock start, the game did not start until 6:30 p.m. due to rain, but Mason did not miss a beat. He kept the Cardinals scoreless for 8.1 innings and only allowed five hits and no walks while striking out five to pick up his sixth win of the season.
The Cardinals put runners on the corners with one out in the ninth inning when Nick Palacios came in and induced a game ending double play for his seventh save of the season and his second in as many attempts this series.
The Wildcats (16-31, 8-18 SLC) scored right out of the gate. Leadoff hitter Russell Crippen started the game with a double down the right field line, advanced to third on a ground ball to short and later scored on an infield single by Heath Beasley. The next eight and a half innings saw no scoring from either team.
UIW starting pitcher
John Shull (San Antonio/Churchill HS) threw a terrific game as well. After allowing a run in the top of the first inning, he settled in very nicely and went 6.0 innings. He allowed four hits, one run and four walks while striking out nine.
Denson Hull (San Antonio/Churchill HS),
Tyler Lesley (San Antonio/Brandeis HS) and
Trevor Hardee (Alvord/Alvord HS) pitched the remaining three innings without allowing a run. They struck out six of the nine batters they retired.
The Cardinals (13-37, 5-21 SLC) hit a pair of doubles in the second and third innings, but were unable to bring in a run. Mason retired 13 batters in a row until
Ryan Gonzalez (Corpus Christi/Carroll HS) led off the bottom of the ninth with a single up the middle.
Eddy Gonzalez (Laredo/United HS) laid down a sacrifice bunt to move
Ryan Gonzalez to second as the tying run.
Austin Hoffman (Goodyear, AZ/Millenium HS) hit a hard line drive to center that dropped for a single, but the runners held up at first and third with one out. However, Palacios entered the game and was able to induce a game-ending double play on his second pitch.
The Cardinals collected five hits and left four men on base while the Wildcats had six hits and left 11 runners on base. Crippen and Beasley were the only hitters with two hits for both teams. The ACU pitching staff did not walk a batter the entire game and only allowed five hits.
Game three of the series is scheduled for a 1:00 p.m. start tomorrow at Sullivan Field.
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