Baseball drops Series at Southwestern on Saturday
GEORGETOWN, Texas – The University of Dallas baseball team cut the deficit to 4-3 in the fifth, but four of the final five runs helped Southwestern University claim a series win on Saturday. The Pirates improved their lead for the final spot in the conference tournament by two games in front of Dallas.
GAME INFORMATION
Team Scores: University of Dallas (4), Southwestern University (8)
Team Records: Dallas (10-27, 6-9 SCAC), Southwestern (13-22, 8-7 SCAC)
Pitcher Records: W) Holley (3-3), L) Hammonds (2-4)
HOW IT HAPPENED
Southwestern never trailed and got on top with a pair of runs in the second inning. Jason McCormack singled to left center and drove in Colby Schmidt for the first run. Schmidt had singled to short and moved to third after a failed pickoff attempt got thrown away by junior Ryan Hammonds (Cedar Hill, Texas). A wild pitch led to McCormack scoring after the bases were already loaded.
Hammonds dug in and induced back-to-back ground outs to get out of the inning with no further damage.
In the fourth, the Pirates doubled the advantage with Tyler Bludau starting the frame with a pinch hit home run over left field. Ethan Hallmark singled up the middle as Southwestern tallied four hits in the inning. Cole Kelly scored on the Hallmark hit.
It was the Crusaders turn to get runs in the scoring column with the next three etched in the fifth inning. Dallas nipped the deficit in half with a three-spot in the top of the fifth. Freshman Thomas Martin (Vancouver, Wash.) split the left center gap for a double. Sophomore Derek Valiska (Bastrop, Texas) and junior Avery Arnold (McKinney, Texas) scored on the play. Junior Zach San Roman (Miami, Fl.) rounded out the run production with an RBI-single through the right side to plate the right fielder.
The bottom of the sixth was the third of four two-run innings for the Gold and Black that game. Ben Little singled to center and drove in Austyn Laird and Kelly. That cushioned a 6-3 lead. The Crusaders responded their next half inning with a run as San Roman singled in the same location again and plated Arnold.
Southwestern put the game away with two in the eighth and Dallas went down in order for its final turn to bat.
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
- Martin (3-5) started the game perfect with three hits and finished with a game-high. San Roman added a multi-hit performance.
- Both teams broke double-digits in the hit column with Southwestern posting a 12-10 edge. UD committed two errors.
- Arnold scored two runs, while Martin added a run scored. The number 3 and 4 hitters each drove in two UD runners. Martin smacked the lone extra-base hit.
- Freshman Jake McCoy (Fort Worth, Texas) recorded the Crusaders' lone steal.
- Hammonds was saddled with the loss in 3.1 innings. He allowed four runs on seven hits and recorded three strikeouts.
- Junior William Marshall (Frisco, Texas) threw four innings of relief. His final stats included: four hits, four runs, three walks, and two strikeouts. The defending SCAC Pitcher of the Week faced four batters in the eighth with one out recorded. He was two outs away from a new career-long.
- Other than Bludau's home run, Southwestern tallied 11 singles. Hallmark and Kelly each had two-high displays. Kelly scored three runs and added a walk as he hit a perfect 1.000 average. Laird also scored more than once.
- Jacob Kendra earned the no-decision in the start. He went 4.2 innings, allowed three runs on five hits to go with two walks and six strikeouts.
- Hayden Holley was the winning pitcher, with 3.1 innings of relief. He scattered five hits and limited UD to a run. Holley punched out three and did not walk an opponent. Joe McCormack tossed a perfect ninth with a strikeout.
UP NEXT
Dallas will host No. 14 Centenary College for the final regular season series on April 23-24.