UD Baseball Swept by Nebraska Wesleyan, Gill Throws Six Hitless

IRVING, Texas - The University of Dallas baseball team had their first homestand of the season, hosting Nebraska Wesleyan on Saturday and Sunday.  The Crusaders were swept in the three-game series, falling to 3-6 overall on the year.

GAME 1 - Dallas 5, Nebraska Wesleyan 12

WP: M. Brammier (1-0)

LP: Graeme Williams (0-2)

After trading blows in the first inning, things got bumpy in a hurry for Dallas.  The Prairie Wolves struck for five runs on two hits, with four walks and one hit batter in the inning.  Austin Birkhoff answered with a solo homerun to lead off the second, making it a 6-2 game.

Dallas pulled another run back with a sac fly in the third to make it 6-3, but NWU doubled their run tally with a six-run fourth inning.  The Crusaders tacked on two runs in the bottom half of the inning, but that would end the scoring for both teams in the game.

GAME 2 - Dallas 1, Nebraska Wesleyan 3

WP: T. Romero (1-0)

LP: A. Montenegro (0-1)

The starting pitchers dueled on the mound in the early goings, with the two teams combining for just three hits across the first three innings.  Both teams had a runner on third in the second inning, but neither offense was able to capitalize on the oppurtunity.

Each side plated a run in the fourth, but Nebraska Wesleyan took the lead in the fifth on a two-out error.  That would be all they needed to win, though they added an insurance run in the eighth, as Dallas' bats went quiet.

The Crusaders twice had the makings of a two-out rally, and both times baserunning stopped them in their tracks.  The seventh inning ended with the runner being gunned down at the plate, and the game ended on a caught stealing.

GAME 3 - Dallas 0, Nebraska Wesleyan 3

WP: N. Unger (1-0)

LP: Donnie Dycus (0-1)

The series finale moved along at a blistering pace, as both starting pitchers simply dominated the game.  Through seven innings, both teams had combined for a single hit, prlovided by Dallas' Jake Amoroso in the fourth.

Dominic Gill set down his first 10 betters in order and only faced 21 batters in six innings of work.  The only blemishes on his performance were three hit batters, none of which made it past second base.  He left the game in the seventh having put on one of the best pitching performances by a Crusader in recent memory, throwing six innings of no-hit baseball with three strikeouts on just 82 pitches.

But just as quickly as the first seven innings of baseball had gone, so too did the no-hit bid and shutout end.  A walk, a stolen base, and a single up the middle suddenly gave the Prairie Wolves the 1-0 lead in the eighth.  A pitching change, a walk, and a double later and it was a 3-0 game.

The Crusaders had the chance to strike back in the bottom half of the inning, loading the bases with one out.  But the timely hit eluded them once more, as twin killing ended the threat.  They threatened once more in the ninth with a runner on first and second and two outs, though nothing would come of it as the Prairie Wolves escaped the inning unscathed to complete the sweep.

Up Next

The Crusaders have the next week off.  They will be back in action on Tuesday, Feb. 28 to play a single game against McMurry University.  First pitch is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. in Abilene.