Bats Come Alive as Crusaders Pick Up a Pair of Wins
JACKSON, Miss. - The University of Dallas baseball team won both of their non-conference matchups on Saturday. They defeated Westminster College 14-7, then the hosts Millsaps College 15-9.
Game 1 - Dallas 14, Westminster 7
WP: E. Mann (1-1)
LP: M. Trout (0-1)
The Crusaders took the early lead thanks to a two-RBI double by Jon Talley in the second. Talley would come all the way around to score on a passed ball to make it 3-0 by the end of the inning. He broke the game open even more with a two-run home run in the fourth to give Dallas a 5-1 lead. Two more runs in the fifth thanks to RBI by Griffin Kopp and Caleb Hohman gave the Crusaders plenty of breathing room going into the later innings.
Though they added runs in the sixth and seventh, the Crusaders were far from satisfied as they piled on four runs in the top of the eighth, helped along by a pair of passed balls, to take a 13-2 lead. Westminster replied with four runs in the bottom half, two of which came via a hit batter and a wild pitch, but couldn't do enough to cut into the deficit. The Crusaders added a run in the top of the ninth for good measure and secured their first win of 2022.
Jon Talley had a massive game at the plate, going 3-5 with a home run, a double, and four RBI. Ethan Mann picked up his first win of the season, allowing two earned runs on four hits in six innings of work, striking out four along the way.
Game 2 - Dallas 15, Millsaps 9
WP: A. Montenegro (1-1)
LP: J. Russo
The first inning and a half produced no shortage of runs, as Dallas once again jumped out to an early lead, scoring four runs in the top of the first; they managed six baserunners on just one hit thanks to walks and an error by Millsaps. That lead didn't last for long, however, as the Majors piled on five runs on four hits in the inning. But the Crusaders answered right back, scoring six unanswered runs across the second, third and fourth to take a 10-5 lead.
It was 10-8 by the end of the fourth, the Majors refusing to go down without a fight. A lead-off triple by Michael Andersen in the seventh got things going for the Crusaders, who would go on to give themselves three more runs of cushion by the end of the inning. Two runs on two hits in the ninth gave the Crusaders a six run lead with the Majors down to their final three outs. Millsaps couldn't get anything going, giving Dallas their second win of the day.
Jon Talley was big yet again for Dallas, going 3-3 with a homerun and five RBI. Caleb Hohman and Anthony Maldonado each went 2-4 with two RBI. Adrian Montenegro picked up his first win, allowing eight runs in three innings of work. The Crusaders bullpen came in and didn't allow a single earned run in six innings.
Up Next
The Crusaders finish the weekend with one game against Millsaps. First pitch is set for 12:00 p.m. on Sunday.