SERIES PREVIEW: Baseball vs. Texas Lutheran University (3/11-12)
MULTIMEDIA COVERAGE
(Coverage provided may vary depending on rain)
Livestats (Game 1, Game 2, Game 3)
SOCIAL MEDIA
UD Twitter: @UDallasSports
UD Baseball Twitter: @UDallasBaseball
Facebook: University of Dallas Athletics
Instagram: udallasathletics
FIRST PITCH
The University of Dallas baseball team opens Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) action this weekend against Texas Lutheran University. The three-game series begins Saturday with a doubleheader at 12 p.m. and concludes Sunday with a single game at 1 p.m. All contests are scheduled nine innings.
The Crusaders went 6-9 to start the first portion of their non-conference season. They have won two-of-three with the most recent victory coming in an 8-7 result against Dallas Christian College. In the midst of a season-long, nine-game homestand the Crusaders are 2-2 so far.
UD NOTES
- Dallas is 3-4 at home this season.
- In 2016, the Crusaders posted a 7-2 record at home in league games (9-8 overall at friendly confines).
- The Crusaders finished 5th in the SCAC standings with an 8-10 record. The top four teams qualify for the SCAC Tournament hosted at AirHogs Stadium in Grand Prairie, Texas, on April 28-30.
- Seth Hanson (Apache Junction, Ariz.) continues his strong first season with Dallas by leading the squad in several offensive categories. He is tops on the team in batting average (.395) (5th SCAC), slugging percentage (.674), and on base percentage (.463).
- Hanson also is the team leader in hits (17), RBIs (15), doubles (4), and home runs (3). Hanson has posted a knock in his past three games, including going yard on Tuesday. He also had a season-best four ribbies. The DH/LF has also reached base safely in 13-of-14 games this spring.
- JP Fasone (Englewood, Colo.) is right beneath the .300 average mark (.298) and has 14 hits.
- Jordan Stickler (Grand Rapids, Mich.) leads the team in runs scored with 13. Fasone is the other double-digit player to cross home with 11.
- Stickler has swiped the most bases with 10-out-of-12 stolen attempts. Josh Abalos (Lewisville, Texas) legged into second on the team with seven. Six of them have come in his past three contests. Fasone rounds out the top three on the team in thefts with six.
- The Crusaders did surpass the .200 batting average mark for the first time this season last Sunday. They enter hitting .216 and have tallied 28 runs on the homestand so far. This includes 26 in the past trio of matchups.
- Pitching unfortunately has seen a raise in the runs allowed. After starting the season not allowing the opposition to score more than four runs in seven games, the UD arms have given up six or more runs in all but one contest. That lone game was last Saturday's 8-4 triumph.
- Dallas is third in runs allowed within the SCAC (89).
- Ryan Hammonds (Cedar Hill, Texas) ranks third in the SCAC for earned run average (1.93). He has thrown seven innings in all four starts.
- Cole Morden (Arlington, Texas) has thrown four scoreless relief outings out of five this season and leads the staff with a 1.29 ERA.
- Hammonds is tied for 5th in the league in strikeouts (25). Conrad Voss, the other Crusader with four starts, (Corona, Calif.) is tied for 9th with 20.
SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS
- Texas Lutheran University won the regular season title in 2016 and was selected 2nd in the SCAC Preseason Coach's Poll.
- TLU was also tabbed 10th in D3Baseball.com preseason rankings.
- Since then, the Bulldogs enter 8-6 on the campaign, but are 5-0 on opponent fields. They are 7-1 away from the home confines.
- The most recent result for TLU was a split (L 3-2, W 8-4) at home versus Massachusetts Institute of Technology on Sunday. Two weekends ago the Bulldogs swept McMurry University on the road in a three-game set.
- Keaton Boysen has a slash line of .392/.627/.466 and is right behind Colby Schrade (.389 average) in total hits by one. Schrade has 21 and leads the team in runs driven in (16). Boysen is one behind in that column too. The duo have five doubles apiece.
- Thomas Varner completes a trio of above .300 hitters with a .356-clip.His on-base percentage is a team-best .483 thanks to his 12 walks (team-most).
- Nathan Malinovsky anchors the rotation with 30.1 innings pitched and an SCAC-high 35 punch outs. His ERA is 4.75
- Cade Killingsworth is another starter with five logged in as many appearances. He is second in innings thrown (27.2) and has spun a 3.25 ERA.
- Dylan Drgac has one-of-two team saves and is 2-0 with a 0.66 ERA in 13.2 innings. He rounds out a trio of strikeout pitchers in double-digits with 11. The starters mentioned above are the top pair.
- TLU is second in league for fewest runs allowed (56). Them and Dallas are near the same in free passes with the opponent edging by two less (54-52).
- A year ago the squads traded series wins at each home venue, with TLU sweeping at its place. The three-game series at Crusader Field was non-conference. Overall Dallas is 7-15 in the all-time matchups.
- Two seasons ago when the conference tilts were in Irving the Bulldogs completed a three-game sweep (4-0, 9-5, 10-1).
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
With spring break next week, the Crusaders will play Millikin University in a doubleheader on March 15 at 12 p.m. After that, Dallas resumes SCAC play the next two weekends away at Austin College (18-19) and Centenary College (25-26).