PREVIEW: Baseball - Hendrix College (2/10) | Concordia University (2/11) | Hardin-Simmons University (2/12)
MULTIMEDIA COVERAGE
(2/10 vs. Hendrix College)
(2/11 vs. Concordia University)
(2/12 vs. Hardin-Simmons University)
SOCIAL MEDIA
UD Twitter: @UDallasSports
UD Baseball Twitter: @UDallasBaseball
Facebook: University of Dallas Athletics
Instagram: udallasathletics
FIRST PITCH
The University of Dallas baseball team remains in the DFW area and will play a three-day classic hosted at Independent Grand Prairie Airhogs Quicktrip Park. Known as "Rusty Greer & Jackie Moore Collegiate Classic," the trio of matchups will occur February 10-12 respectively against Hendrix College (6 p.m.), Concordia University (6 p.m.), and Hardin-Simmons University (4 p.m.).
Dallas went 1-2 on opening weekend against Sul Ross State University. After prevailing in the home opener 1-0, the Crusaders dropped the next two by final scores of 8-4 and 4-0. The Crusaders will play the next eight contests away from the home confines through the end of the month. Six of them will be neutral site locations.
Program of Participating Teams and Rosters
UD NOTES
- Ryan Hammonds (Cedar Hill, Texas) delivered a spectacular performance on opening day, retiring the first 18 batters he faced en route to a 1-hit, seven-inning shutout against the Lobos. 10 batters were sat down via strikeout (career-best).
- Hammonds earned Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) Pitcher of the Week.
- Zach San Roman (Miami, Fla.) smacked the game-winning home run in UD's victory.
- Dallas compiled 12 hits across the series.
- Seth Hanson (Apache Junction, Ariz.) and JP Fasone (Englewood, Colo.) each lead the squad with three knocks.
- Jordan Stickler (Grand Rapids, Mich.) has two hits and is 2-for-2 in stolen bags.
- Eric Felchak (The Woodlands, Texas) and Conrad Voss (Corona, Calif.) made the other starts. Felchak allowed three earned runs in 6 plus innings.
- Abraham Griesbauer (Troy, Mo.) and Kyle Gamez (Burleson, Texas) both tossed a pair of scoreless relief appearances.
A LOOK AT THE OPPONENTS
(Hendrix College)
The Warriors open their campaign against Dallas on Friday. Last season, Hendrix posted a 23-19 record and 13-8 mark against Southern Athletic Association (SAA) schools. The Warriors were 0-3 in neutral site games, with all of them coming in the same classic a year ago.
Drew Judson returns as the top hitter from the previous season. He batted .390 with 62 hits, six doubles, three of the team's eight home runs, and 20 RBI. Jorge Leon posted a .354 batting average, whacked two homers, and was the other Warrior to surpass 50 base knocks. Tanner Cooper is another returner that hit above .300 with a .318-clip and drove in a team-best 32. Wyatt Hogan (.307) completes the quartet of returners to hit over .300 as he produced a team-leading 11 doubles and followed Cooper with 30 ribbies. Harley Faye headlines the returning pitchers on staff with 65.1 innings logged. He was 6-5 in 12 outings (11 starts) and posted a 4.30 ERA.
In the all-time series, Dallas is 14-16-1 against the Warriors. The last time these programs met was when both were members of the SCAC in 2012. Splitting the season series 3-3, the home venue teams earned 2-1 series wins. The most recent games were played in Irving with the Crusaders winning 5-4 and 3-2 (11 innings), respectively.
(Concordia University)
The Tornadoes opened the season with No.21 Texas Lutheran University last weekend. Playing a single contest in Seguin before a twinbill at Austin, it was the road squads earning wins in each matchup. Concordia started the campaign with a 7-1 victory away, but would be topped 8-0 and 16-3 by the defending regular season SCAC Champions. CTX faces fellow American Southwest Conference (ASC) opponent University of Texas at Dallas on Friday.
Jake Valadez went 3-for-6 over two games with an RBI and two runs scored. Bret Leiferman lifted a homer and triple while scoring three runs. He also drove in a pair. Caleb Maddox earned two hits with both being two-baggers. Kylen Harrell earned a save with three innings of relief in lone appearance. He fanned three. Justin Traxler posted a 1.50 ERA in six innings of his start. Matthew Williams and Valadez also took starts on the bump.
In the all-time series, Dallas holds a 5-2 record. The most recent meeting these squads had head-to-head was March 12, 2013, with a split doubleheader in Austin. After UD won 8-7, the nightcap was a one-run final 4-3. Both contests went seven innings.
(Hardin-Simmons University)
The Cowboys also will start the season this weekend. They take on Texas Lutheran in the season opener Friday and University of Texas-Dallas on Saturday. Last year, Hardin-Simmons went 29-18 overall and 17-7 in the ASC. It played well on neutral fields going 6-1.
Zack de Luna returns from last year's lineup where he batted .413, slugged .550, and reached base .460. He legged out 16 doubles, laced a pair of triples, pounded a pair of homers, and rounded out top three with 36 RBI. Taylor Cooling slashed .389/.437/.552 leading the squad in doubles with 22. Colton Parker clobbered 12 homers while batting .387 and slugging .739 overall.
Hardin-Simmons 2017 Season Stats
Hardin-Simmons 2016 Season Stats
In the all-time series, the Crusaders are 7-7 against Hardin-Simmons. Of the opponents being faced this weekend, Dallas has seen Sunday's foe the most recent. In 2015, the squads met on the diamond at a professional ballpark in Frisco, Texas, home of the Double A Rangers Affiliate, the Roughriders. Dallas won 7-6 in that matchup. Hammonds tossed six innings in that game, while Cole Morden (Arlington, Texas) threw two in relief. San Roman also appeared in that game.
Last year, the Crusaders were swept on the road in a three-game set. The finals were 9-7, 3-0, and 7-6. Fasone combined for three RBI over the series with three hits. Hammonds, Felchak, Griesbauer, Gamez, Morden, Blake Palmer (Coppell, Texas), and William Marshall (Frisco, Texas) all toed the mound in that series.
UP NEXT
Dallas will be on the road at Millsaps College Feb. 17-19. The opponents for the Crusaders are Rhodes College (12 p.m.), Piedmont College (3 p.m.), and LaGrange College (12 p.m.). Schedule changes were made today on the Piedmont and LaGrange contests. Please note the latest information as up-to-date.