Baseball Fall Exhibition Results in 1-1 day; Both decided in Dramatic Fashion

IRVING, Texas – The University of Dallas baseball team split two fall exhibition contests on Saturday versus North Lake College. The Crusaders were nipped 6-5 in game one of the twinbill, but would rally for seven runs in their final at-bat to claim a 9-8 walk off in the second.

In the first game, UD broke a scoreless tie in the third inning on a two-out single to right center by sophomore Derek Valiska (Bastrop, Texas) to bring in freshman Josh Abalos (Lewisville, Texas) and senior Rene Vargas, Jr. (San Antonio, Texas). Abalos sparked the frame with an infield single to short stop and stole second base.

North Lake College would erase the deficit and claim an advantage that would not be relinquished in the sixth inning. The Blazers plated four runs on five hits in the rally inning. The guests extended the advantage in the eighth with a pair of runs.

Dallas threatened in the both half with a trio of runs to bring the scoreboard to 6-5. The game-tying runner was on third eighth and ninth innings, but the Crusaders would end each frame with a ground out to short.

The second contest of the day would watch UD fall behind after allowing a two-spot in the opening inning. The home squad would not knock its first base hit until a two-out single by freshman Thomas Martin (Vancouver, Wash.) in the fourth.

In the following inning, Dallas knotted the game 2-all. Freshman Mark Resnick (Houston, Texas) laced a two-out double down the left-field line and scored Abalos and freshman Jordan Stickler (Grand Rapids, Mich.). The duo that came across the dish each stole second base prior to Resnick's big knock.

After the Blazers notched a 3-2 edge in the sixth, they continued adding on with at least one scoring play in the remaining frames to build an 8-2 margin. That was still not enough, to keep the Navy and White at bay, as a wild bottom of the ninth occurred.

Pitching control alluded the visitors, and Dallas took advantage of five walks and two hit-batsmen to garner a final seven-run scoring span. A strikeout would dismiss a Crusader for the first out of the inning, but the lone time the ball was put in play was Valiska's double down the left field line.

Freshman Paul Joseph Scioli Jr. (Lubbock, Texas) and Stickler came around respectively to lift UD in the wild finish.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE GAME 1:

• Senior Luciano Villanueva (San Antonio, Texas) and Abalos posted multi-hit games for UD. Abalos would score two runs.
• The home squad collected seven hits and gave up 14 to the opponent.
• Junior Avery Arnold (McKinney, Texas) logged one hit, with it being a double for the lone extra base knock on the Dallas side.
• Junior Ryan Hammonds (Cedar Hill, Texas) took the mound in the first start, blanking the Blazers through five frames. He fanned eight batters and scattered five hits.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE GAME 2:

• Dallas was outhit 15-6 in the contest 
• The Crusaders drew 14 walks but struck out 15 times
• Junior Eric Felchak (The Woodlands, Texas) made the start and delivered three innings. After allowing two runs in the first, Felchak would toss two scoreless frames in a row. He recorded six of the team's 10 punch outs.
• Fellow teammate Cole Morden (Arlington, Texas) also logged three innings in relief.
• Valiska was the only Crusader with multiple hits with a two-for-five game. Resnick and Stickler each tallied three walks.  

UP NEXT

Dallas continues fall practice in preparation for the 2016 campaign. The Crusaders open on January 30 at Sul Ross State University for a three-game series.