SERIES PREVIEW: Baseball at LeTourneau University (4/1-4/2)
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FIRST PITCH
The University of Dallas baseball team has a bye weekend from Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) play. Dallas will continue its five-game stretch against non-conference opponents with a three-game series at LeTourneau University. Saturday is a doubleheader starting at 1 p.m. The first game is scheduled seven innings, while the latter is nine. The series wraps up on Sunday at 2 p.m.
The Crusaders are 9-18 overall. They concluded March with a remarkable come-from-behind victory on Wednesday night over Dallas Christian College. Down to their final out, the Crusaders batted around and had eight straight batters reach to win 13-12 in an eight-run, ninth. Paul Scioli (Lubbock, Texas) went yard twice, and was the first Crusader to have multiple homers in a game since the current record holder, Zach Atkins, did it in 2009 with three. Nicolas Hovde (Waco, Texas) smacked a bases-loaded triple just fair down the right field line to knot the game at 12. He scored on the next pitch that got by the catcher as a passed ball.
UD NOTES
- Dallas is 7-11 versus non-conference schools this season.
- This weekend's opponent marks the sixth school from the American Southwest Conference (ASC) the Crusaders have faced in 2017. UD has a 4-6 record.
- Jordan Stickler (Grand Rapids, Mich.) leads the squad in hitting with a .346 batting average. He is also the team leader in runs scored with 26 and stolen bases with 19. Stickler has knocked a hit in six-of-seven contests and reached safely in 18 straight.
- Stickler is tied with Seth Hanson in total hits (27). Hanson is the other UD player batting above .300 with a .342-clip. He has team-highs in doubles (6) and runs driven in (20).
- Nathan Patton (McKinney, Texas) has 24 hits and is hitting a .296 average. His five doubles and 14 ribbies are second on the squad.
- Scioli's two home runs place him in a three-way tie for most on the team with three. Hanson and Mark Peterson (Cincinnati, Ohio) are the other two displaying power. Peterson completes the top three hitters in double figures for RBIs with 13.
- JP Fasone (Englewood, Colo.) and Stickler each have drawn at least 20 walks with 41 combined. Fasone and Josh Abalos (Lewisville, Texas) are tied for second on the team with 10 steals apiece.
- On the mound, Ryan Hammonds (Cedar Hill, Texas) has anchored the starting staff with seven and gone at least six innings in all outings. He has 47 innings thrown and posted a 3.26 ERA along with 39 strikeouts. In out of league games, Hammonds has allowed no more than two earned runs per outing and combined for 28 innings thrown and 25 strikeouts.
- Abraham Griesbauer (Troy, Mo.) has spun a 3.38 ERA and is 3-0 in appearances out of the pen. He has 18 strikeouts and 21.1 innings pitched.
- Griesbauer and Kyle Gamez (Burleson, Texas) are tied for the team-high in appearances with 10. The duo have both started once.
- These two, along with Cole Morden (Arlington, Texas) and William Marshall (Frisco, Texas) have all come out of the bullpen nine times this season.
SCOUTING THE YELLOWJACKETS
- LeTourneau is 7-17 overall this season and 0-12 in ASC play.
- The team was swept last weekend at Howard Payne University (7-4, 6-1, and 16-10).
- The YellowJackets are 5-10 at Conrad-Vernon Field this season.
- Gonzalo Sosa paces the hitting with a .323 average and 30 base knocks. He is tied with Kyle Jacobs and Noah Mahoney with seven doubles for each within that trio.
- Jacob Simmons and Jacobs both are tied for the team-lead in ribbies with 17. The tandem both surpass 20 hits with Jacobs having 28 and Simmons dropping 24 down.
- Jacobs has lifted three long balls and scored a team-most 23 times, while Sosa has sent two round-trippers and leads the team in stolen bases with seven.
- Pitching wise, Andrew Harlan and Jordan Cams both have started in all seven appearances. They each have eclipsed 40 innings barely.
- Luke Ludwig and Blake Maxfeldt both have a team-high 11 turns on the rubber.
RECENT MATCHUPS
- The all-time series is nearly even, with the Crusaders holding a 16-15 advantage.
- Dallas has dropped the last four in head-to-head meetings dating through 2013. In 2015, the Crusaders had a doubleheader scheduled for Longview during the week rained out.
- Last season, the Crusaders were topped 8-3 (final eight innings) and 10-0 (final seven innings) at home.
- After being tied 3-3 in the first contest, LeTourneau scored five in the extra frame of the scheduled seven inning matchup. Hammonds allowed two earned in 7.2 innings. Marshall got the last out.
UP NEXT
Dallas will play at Dallas Christian on April 4 looking to take its third win of the season. Both previous meetings at Crusader Field were decided by one run. That contest will be at 4 p.m.
After that, it's time for the second half of SCAC action beginning with six straight at home. A three-game set with Southwestern University on April 8-9 kicks that crucial span off.