Crusaders Win in Extras, Split Double-Header to Open Season
ALPINE, Texas - The University of Dallas baseball team opened their season against Sul Ross State on Saturday. They lost the first game 7-1, and won the second game 10-9 in extra innings to split the double-header.
Game 1 - Dallas 1, Sul Ross 7
WP: Chris Ibanez (1-0)
LP: Graeme Williams (0-1)
After a quiet first inning, the Lobos took the lead in the second when a pair of errors put runners in scoring position. They added to their lead in the fourth inning, bringing in three runs on four straight hits to open the inning.
That would be all Sul Ross needed for the win, but they added three more runs in the bottom of the sixth for some insurance, two of those runs coming with two outs.
After a lead-off triple by Mike Andersen, Austin Birkoff brought home the Crusaders first and only run of the game on a groundout in the top of the seventh. Dallas was held to four hits, as Ibanez went the distance onthe mound for Sul Ross.
Game 2 - Dallas 10, Sul Ross 9 (10 Innings)
WP: Marcelo Carillo II (1-0)
LP: Connor Archer (0-1)
The Lobos jumped out to a 2-0 lead on a two-RBI double in the first, but Dallas answered back with a run in the second thanks to an error by the second baseman. Sul Ross made up for it in the bottom half of the inning, however, with two runs on three hits to make it 4-1.
Dallas chipped away with a couple of solo shots by Andrew Gaspar and Caleb Hohman, and Sul Ross kept building their lead, with the Lobos leading 8-3 after five innings.
Then the bats came alive for Dallas in the sixth. They loaded the bases to start the inning with a couple of knocks and a walk, then brought home five runs on two hits and a pair of groundouts, the inning punctuated by a two-run shot by Fernando Davila that tied the game up at 8-8.
Birkhoff made it 9-8 Dallas with a solo homer in the seventh, but the Lobos tied it up yet again with an RBI single in the bottom of the inning. Nothing was settle after nine frames, sending the game to extras.
Dallas got work quickly in the 10th; Andersen led off the inning with a single, and Tyler Darnell moved him over with a sac bunt. Hohman, with a homer already in the game, was intentionally walked to face Brett Castillo who recorded his third hit of the game and drove in Andersen to give the Crusaders the 10-9 lead.
That would be all they needed, as Marcelo Carillo II faced the minimum three batters in the bottom of the 10th, capping off a fantastic performance by the UD bullpen.
Castillo went 3-for-6 with 2 RBI. Birkhoff was 3-for-4 with two runs and an RBI. Five pitchers out of the pen combined for six innings, allowing six hits and just one run. Carillo II put in the brunt of the work, going three innings and allowing just one hit with four strikeouts.
Up Next
The series will wrap up tomorrow with a single game; first pitch is scheduled for 12:00 p.m.