Celts Complete Sweep in Final Home Series
IRVING, Texas - The University of Dallas baseball team lost their conference double header with the University of St. Thomas on Saturday. They drop to 3-15 in conference play and 9-24 on the year.
Game 1 - Dallas 1, St. Thomas 11 (8 Innings)
WP: Chris Parsons (4-4)
LP: Ethan Mann (2-3)
The final score of this game is deceptively lopsided, as it gives no indication that this was a seven-inning pitcher's duel. The Crusader's were 90 feet from plating the first trun, thanks to two-out double by Mike Andersen and a wild pitch, but a sharply hit ground ball right at the first baseman by Andrew Womack ended the inning. The Celts would strike first in the second inning, scoring two runs on three hits and an error and stranded two more. This was followed by five innings of deadlock.
St. Thomas was the more threatening of the two sides in this span, getting runners in scoring position in the third, fifth, and sixth innings, but Ethan Mann managed to get out of the jam each time to keep it close. Dallas' best chance to score at this point came in the fourth inning, when Grady Birmingham led off with a single and promptly stole second, but the next three Crusaders would be put down in order, stranding him on second.
The Celts burst the game wide open in the eighth inning, piling on nine runs on eight hits against three different Dallas pitchers, taking an 11-0 lead and suddenly putting the Crusaders down to their final three outs. Tyler Darnell drove in Dallas' first run with a single down the left field line, and after a single by Mike Andersen the Crusaders had the bases loaded with two outs. Andrew Womack came up representing the last chance for the Crusaders, but struck out swinging to end the game after an epic 11 pitch at bat, fouling off seven pitches to stay alive.
Game 2 - Dallas 1, St. Thomas 11 (7 Innings)
WP: Luke Sebesta (1-1)
LP: Ryan Flores (0-5)
The Celts struck first once again in game two, scoring the first run of the game after two walks and two hit batters, but Ryan Flores bounced back and got the next two batters out to leave the bases loaded and limit the damage. They plated two more runs on three hits in the second, but Jon Talley responded with a missle that rippled the back netting on the lacrosse field a good 60 feet beyond the left field fence to make it a 3-1 game.
St. Thomas scored three runs in the fourth, two of which were unearned, then three more in the fifth to take a 9-2 lead. The Crusaders stranded a runner on second in the fourth, but that would be the closest they came to scoring the rest of the game. Two more runs in the seventh made it a 10 run game, and the Crusaders were put down in order as St. Thomas completed the series sweep.
Up Next
The Crusaders have one more conference weekend ahead of them away at Southwestern, but are scheduled to make up their non-conference game with East Texas Baptist on Tuesday, April 26. First pitch is scheduled for 3:00 p.m from Crusader Field, if the weather allows.