ACU can clinch title vs. Greyhounds

ACU needs two wins to claim LSC South Division crown

ABILENE -- The Wildcats can clinch their sixth Lone Star Conference South Division title (and fourth outright title) since 1998 this weekend when they host Eastern New Mexico in final regular-season home series of the season.

ACU is 38-13 overall and 13-3 in the LSC South Division and leads second-place Angelo State (29-22 and 10-6) by three games and third-place ENMU (25-24 and 9-7) by four games.  All ACU needs to clinch the outright title is either two wins or one win and one Angelo State loss this weekend at Texas A&M-Kingsville.  One ACU victory over the Greyhounds will clinch at least a tie for the LSC South Division title.

But the Wildcats want no part of a tie for the championship, especially with a berth in the NCAA Division II South Central Region tournament on the line.  ACU is No. 2 in the region, just percentage points behind No. 1 Delta State, the defending national champion and the No. 1 team in the nation.  The Wildcats are without a conference tournament this season to enhance their resume, so a series win this weekend -- if not a sweep -- and a win in a May 9 game at Dallas Baptist are crucial for the Wildcats' hopes of grabbing the No. 1 spot and the right to host the tournament at Crutcher Scott Field.

The Wildcats enter this weekend's series against the Greyhounds after taking three of four games last weekend in Kingsville against the defending conference champion Javelinas.  ACU has won 24 of its last 27 games dating back to a 12-8 win over Northeastern State on March 12.  ACU needs to win four of its last five games to surpass the best regular-season win total in school history: 41 by the 1998 squad.

The Wildcats have not lost a season series to the Greyhounds since the 1995 squad went 2-3 against ENMU.  That capped back-to-back seasons that saw ACU go 1-5 and 2-3 against ENMU, the only two times that the Greyhounds have won a season series from ACU.  Since Britt Bonneau took over the ACU program in 1997, the Wildcats are 31-7 against the Greyhounds, including a 6-0 mark in 2004.  ACU, in fact, has won eight straight games against the Greyhounds dating back to the 2003 season.

ACU enters the series against ENMU with one of the top offenses in NCAA Division II baseball.  The Wildcats are 14th in the nation in batting average (.349), and ninth in the nation in scoring offense at 9.0 runs per game.  ACU has already scored 99 more runs in five fewer games than the 2004 squad scored (459-360) and has increased its scoring average by more than 2.5 runs per game.  ACU has outscored opponents 459-252 on the season.

Junior leftfielder Johnny Zepeda leads the Wildcat offensive attack, hitting a league-leading .449 with two home runs and 38 RBI.  Zepeda is 14th in the country in batting average.  Junior shortstop Ruben Rivera is hitting .419 with 37 RBI, while senior centerfielder Cody Cure is hitting .383 with one home run and 47 RBI.  Junior designated hitter Joel Wells leads the club in RBI with 51 (to go along with five home runs and a .345 batting average), while junior rightfielder Chris Walsh leads the team in home runs with seven to go along with a .306 batting average and 37 RBI.

Senior first baseman Ryan Barker continues his onslaught on the ACU record book in his final season as last weekend he became the first player in LSC and ACU history to crack the 180 career RBI barrier.  Barker, who has a career high in hits this season with 73, has 182 career RBI going into the final five regular season games.  He is second in ACU history in runs (175), hits (244), doubles (53), fourth in total bases (359), seventh in home runs (18) and 10th in stolen bases (34).  He has a chance to be the career leader in doubles and total bases before the season ends.

The Wildcats' pitching staff has been solid all season, led by spectacular seasons from sophomore righthander Ben Maynard and junior righthander Ben Brockman.  Brockman - who took a no-decision last Friday in an 8-3 loss to the Javelinas - is 10-0 on the season with a 2.63 ERA.  He is third in the nation in wins and is tied with Delta State's Brad Lightsey (11-0) in winning percentage (1.000).  Brockman still needs just one win to tie the ACU single-season record for wins in a season with 11, a record currently shared by Mark Ferry, Grant Gregg and Corey Tidwell.

Maynard is ninth in the country in wins with his 9-1 record, and he has thrown four complete games while compiling a 3.20 ERA.  In just two seasons as a Wildcat, Maynard already has 15 wins and is well on his way to setting a new career record for wins, a mark currently held by Casey Towery, who won 31 games from 1996-99.

No. 3 starter Brandon Moore is also unbeaten, carrying an 8-0 record and 4.92 ERA into the weekend series.  He went seven strong innings in last Saturday's 12-5 win, allowing just three hits to pick up the victory.  No. 4 starter Justin Whitlock got his season back on track in last Saturday's 8-3 win in the series finale as he went the distance to improve to 5-3 and lower his ERA to 5.15.

ENMU is led by starting pitcher Trevor Davis, who is tied with Lightsey for the most wins by a pitcher in Division II.  Davis is 11-4 with a 3.91 ERA in 12 starts (22 appearances), and should get a start against the Wildcats.  The other three starters figure to be Brett Scherer (3-5, 5.79 ERA), Kelly Crain (6-7, 6.05 ERA) and David Swinconos (4-3, 7.71 ERA).

The offense is led by Bryan Moore, who is seventh in the LSC in hitting at .429.  Mark Wallace leads the club in home runs (3) and RBI (38) to go along with a .325 batting average.