PREVIEW: Dallas at Howard Payne (3/10; DH) | LeTourneau (3/11)
(Photo Graphic Courtesy of Hannah Miller)
MULTIMEDIA COVERAGE
(3/10 at Howard Payne)
(3/11 at LeTourneau)
FIRST PITCH
The University of Dallas baseball team (4-9) plays three mid-week games beginning with a doubleheader on Tuesday, March 10 at Howard Payne University. The twinbill begins at 2 p.m., being pushed back an hour due to field conditions. Both games will be seven innings now.
The six-game stretch of non-conference contests concludes on March 11 at LeTourneau University. First pitch for the makeup that was rained out on Feb. 25 at Longview, Texas is slated for 7 p.m.
Dallas is looking to end a seven-game losing slide dating back to Feb. 18 versus Castleton State College. It will be an extensive trip away from Crusader Field as the Navy and White are in the midst of a 13-game road swing.
March 21 is the first time UD is scheduled to play on the home diamond again.
MOST RECENT ACTION
The Crusaders watched a season-long streak continue with a sweep at East Texas Baptist University this past Friday and Saturday. Dallas fell in the opener 11-5, and were unable to claim a game in the doubleheader the next day. The final scores of those were 2-1 and 15-5, respectively.
Pitching continues to be the culprit for UD, as the Tigers pounced on a seven-run second to cut a 1-0 disadvantage and swing the momentum to claim the first contest of the series.
Sophomore Ryan Hammonds (Cedar Hill, Texas) got the start in the first of two on Saturday. The right hander pitched four scoreless frames, before his lone blemish in a two-run fifth saddled him (1-3) with a loss. Hammonds also notched a career-high, seven strikeouts.
UD hit three base knocks, including back-to-back doubles by senior tandem Zack Boylson (Fairview, Texas) and Nolan Kipp (Folsom, Calif.). The outfielders together produced the only run for the road squad, occurring in the fourth inning.
QUICK HITS
Sophomore Alex Stack (Keller, Texas) is batting .381 on the squad for a team-high. The third baseman also ranks as the team-leader in hits with 16, runs with 12, and is tied for third in total bases at 17.
A strong weekend for senior Luciano Villanueva (San Antonio, Texas) lifted him to second for the Navy and White with 19 total bases and a tie for third on the club with 13 knocks. The designated hitter is batting .351 and moved to first on UD with eight RBI, five of which occurred in the latest three-game set. Villanueva combined for a quartet of hits, scoring twice over the three affairs. He managed a season-high three RBI in the most recent matchup at ETBU.
Other solid performances for the Crusaders' offense include: junior Rene Vargas Jr. (San Antonio, Texas), senior Trevor Keele (Edgewood, Texas), and Kipp.
Vargas Jr. is averaging a .280 clip with a team-leading three doubles and 17 total bases. He ranks second with 14 hits.
Kipp is hitting .282 with 11 hits and a pair of two-baggers. The senior outfielder from Folsom, California, has driven in seven runs for second on the leaderboard.
Keele has launched both of the team's homers is hitting .277. He also paces the squad with 22 total bases and rounds out the top three with six RBI.
SCOUTING HOWARD PAYNE
The Yellowjackets (6-6) are seeking to nip a three-game losing slide after a sweep at Louisiana College this past weekend series. HPU was topped 6-4 and 2-1, respectively in the twinbill, and got swept after a 5-1 outing in the finale.
Don Shepard Park in Brownwood, Texas has been nice for Howard Payne thus far on the young campaign. At the friendly confines, the Yellowjackets are 4-1 and have won their last three.
Brandon Garrett leads the offense by slashing .324/.351/.381 in averaging, on-base percentage, and slugging percentage. Garrett also is one of two players in double-digits in hits with 12.
Joining him is Matthew Daniel, who has ripped 10, five counting as extra base hits. The trio of doubles and two triples have helped him amass a team-high eight RBI.
On the pitching staff, Kyle Ramon has locked down a save and not allowed a run in two appearances, spanning 6.1 innings. He has punched out six batters.
SCOUTING LETOURNEAU
Another opponent featuring the YellowJackets mascot, LETU (5-4) returns to Conrad-Vernon Field after five games away from the home confines. The YellowJackets split a doubleheader this past weekend at Hardin-Simmons University in American Southwest Conference (ASC) action.
A walk-off in game one doomed LETU, 2-1, in 12 innings, before a 4-2 triumph was clinched in come-from-behind fashion in the nightcap. The home squad trailed 2-0 in the seventh, and would need every one of its 14 hits to rally.
A trio of players for LeTourneau have eclipsed double figures in hits with Kyle Jacobs and Sean Sellers each displaying 11. The duo are averaging .324 and .297, respectively. Dillon Yates completes the unit with 10 knocks and is tied with a team-best, five runs batted in.
LETU's pitching staff has stifled the opposition throughout the campaign, sporting a combined 1.65 ERA. Three of the arms for the YellowJackets have managed at least three innings and allowed 1 earned run or less.
Two opponents from the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) have defeated Wednesday's UD foe. Trinity University (9-5) and Texas Lutheran University (7-3) each claimed triumphs at Conrad-Vernon Field.
SERIES HISTORY
Dallas has played both programs in recent years, going 3-7 versus Howard Payne and 2-8 against LeTourneau dating back to 2010 records.
Last year, Dallas dropped a three-game series at Brownwood, Texas. After a 9-6 setback, the Crusaders crushed a season-most, 16 runs on HPU, but would fall 13-6 in the rubber matchup. Keele mashed a three-for-four outing with a double and triple for three RBI, and two runs scored in the victory. Senior Anthony Armstrong (Richardson, Texas) drove in two and along with Kipp added a pair of hits apiece.
UD last faced the YellowJackets at Longview in 2013 with a pair of setbacks handed to the baseball squad. Despite the Navy and White charging back with at least a run in the final three frames of a seven-inning affair, LETU held onto a 5-4 win in the latter of a two-game set.
LEAGUE ACTION STARTS
Dallas opens SCAC play at Schreiner University on March 14-15. That Saturday features a doubleheader beginning at 12 p.m. The series wraps up on Sunday with a single-game affair at 1 p.m.
SOCIAL MEDIA
UD Twitter: @UDallasSports
UD Baseball Twitter: @UDallasBaseball
Facebook: University of Dallas Athletics