Baseball takes down No. 13 Trinity University on 'Senior Day' for Crusaders

IRVING, Texas - In the first contest of a two-game weekend series with No. 13 Trinity University, the University of Dallas baseball team (24-11) showed the NCAA Division III Baseball community that the Crusaders should not to be taken lightly and are serious contenders for a postseason berth, as Dallas defeated the Tigers, 5-4, in nine-innings Saturday afternoon at Crusader Field.

On 'Senior Day' for the Crusaders, Dallas' seniors 'showed out' in a big way for head coach Fraser Holmes' squad. Philip Carkhuff (Marietta, Ga./The Lovett School) turned in a masterful performance in his last time to dawn UD Blue on home turf, as the senior right-handed pitcher earned the victory after throwing a three-hitter in seven innings of work. Improving to 7-3 on the season, Carkhuff struck-out three Tiger batters, while allowing three runs (all earned) and as many walks.

Michael Schweiss (Parker, Colo./Chaparral H.S.) stole a little of Carkhuff's thunder, however, with the junior right-handed hurler notching his fourth save of the season in closing out the game for the Crusaders, tying him for the Dallas school record in saves with Carkhuff.

Dallas and their seniors set a game-defining tone in the bottom of the 1st inning, as the Crusaders rocked Klimesh -- Trinity's starting pitcher -- for three runs. Klimesh's day came to an abrupt end in the 2nd inning, with Dallas chasing him after just 10 batters faced in total. 

Senior shortstop David Rettinger (San Antonio, Texas/Central Catholic H.S.) contributed largely to the Crusaders' 1st inning success. At the plate, Rettinger's single produced two RBIs -- Brian Shelburne (Portsmouth, R.I./Portsmouth H.S.) and Devin Arnold (McKinney, Texas/McKinney H.S.) scored.

Senior catcher Delano Ponce (Albuquerque, N.M./Albuquerque Academy) had a keen eye hitting-wise for Dallas as well. Ponce had two RBIs on the day, with the first coming on a bases-loaded walk in the 1st inning, which scored Trevor Allred (Anchorage, Alaska/South Anchorage H.S.). After designated-hitter Nico Caluda (New Orleans, La./Jesuit H.S.) led of the bottom of the 6th innning with a stand-up triple, Ponce laid down a marvelous sacrifice-squeeze bunt to score Caluda.

Leading 5-1 after seven innings, Schweiss entered the game in relief of Carkhuff -- who exited with a nice ovation from the UD faithful -- with two Tiger runners on base (first and second). After a passed ball advanced these runners to second and third base, respectively, Schweiss struck-out Early swinging for the first out of the 8th inning.

Jackson then proceeded to single, knocking in Donnan for the RBI to make the score 5-2. Schweiss induced Robusto, the next hitter, into a ground-out to freshman second baseman Mark Carlson (Hawthorn Woods, Ill./Home School). Playing the percentages game, Schweiss then intentionally walked the .368 hitting Felix to get to Pappas, but this backfired as Pappas with the bases-loaded produced a big-time two RBI single, thus making the score 5-4. Schweiss, however, helped the Crusaders avert near disaster by promptly getting Calbick to fly-out to Shelburne in center field, thus ending the Tiger threat.

Schweiss shut down Trinity in the top-half of the 9th inning, giving the Crusaders the 5-4 victory.

Can Crusaders sweep No. 13 Trinity and match a season-high five-game winning streak?

Dallas looks to take the two-game sweep of Trinity on Sunday, April 16, with junior right-handed pitcher Michael Byers (Manassas, Va./Seton Home School) on the 'bump' for the Crusaders. First pitch against the Tigers is set for 2:00 p.m. at Crusader Field and can be viewed via online-stream by accessing collegetvticket.com for those unable to make it out to the game.