ABILENE, Texas (Interstat) — Zandt Payne homered twice and drove in five runs as Abilene Christian erupted for 10 runs over the second and fourth innings to rout Oral Roberts 12-3 on Saturday evening at Kimbrell Arena, earning a split of the first two games of the weekend series.

The Wildcats (3-2) avenged a 9-2 loss to the Golden Eagles from the previous afternoon, overwhelming Oral Roberts (3-3) with a potent offensive display that included three home runs and 10 total hits.

The most important part of the game came in the bottom of the second inning, which completely shifted the contest’s momentum. Trailing 3-0, Abilene Christian’s Maddox Miesse led off with a solo home run. After a single and two wild pitches put a runner on third, the Wildcats loaded the bases with two outs for Payne. The shortstop, who went 0-for-3 in Friday’s loss, crushed a grand slam to deep center field off Oral Roberts starter Keaton Love, turning a three-run deficit into a 5-3 lead. The inning featured four runs scoring with two outs.

Payne added a solo shot in the eighth inning for his second homer of the game, finishing 2-for-5. Ryan Jones also homered for Abilene Christian, going 2-for-3 with two RBIs, while Miesse drove in two runs on a 2-for-4 day.

The Wildcats’ pitching staff effectively contained a Golden Eagles lineup that had produced nine runs a day earlier. Starter Aidan Coleman earned the win, allowing three runs on three hits over five innings, striking out six. Relievers Carson Wallace and Grayson Mckelvey combined for four scoreless innings of two-hit ball, striking out seven.

Oral Roberts had taken an early 3-0 lead without a hit in the first inning, capitalizing on a hit-by-pitch, a walk, a wild pitch and a fielder’s choice. They managed only five hits total. Makani Tanaka hit a solo home run in the fourth, and Cooper Combs added another in the fifth, accounting for two of the Golden Eagles’ three runs.

The Wildcats broke the game open with a four-run fourth inning, aided by an Oral Roberts error and a sacrifice fly, to extend their lead to 9-3. They added single runs in the fifth and eighth innings.

Oral Roberts relievers Luke Puffinbarger and Keaton Ruthardt each threw two scoreless innings in the loss, with Ruthardt striking out four.

The result defied the pregame projections from Interstat, which gave Oral Roberts a 55.2% probability to win and projected a 7-5 Abilene Christian victory.

The two teams conclude their three-game series on Sunday afternoon at Kimbrell Arena. Oral Roberts will then travel to face Missouri State on Tuesday, while Abilene Christian’s next game is at Texas State on Friday.