Baseball SCAC Opener Pushed Back: Crusaders Look to Make a Statement in Conference Play
March 15, 2024
IRVING, Texas - Due to impending inclement weather over the next two days, the University of Dallas baseball conference opener against Centenary College has been rescheduled. The series will now start with a double header on Sunday, March 17 at 12:00 pm, with game three scheduled for 2:00 pm on Monday, March 18.
The Crusaders head into conference play on the back of their best start to a season in over a decade with a record of 12-3. Through 10 games they were 9-1, a feat they haven't accomplished since the 2012 season. And in their first 13 games they put together an 11-game winning streak, the best winning streak for the program since winning 10 straight in 2004.
Dallas will face arguably their toughest competition of the season thus far in Centenary, who were picked to finish second in the SCAC's Preseason Poll. The Gents are coming off their eighth 20-plus win season since 2013, and won it all back in 2022.
As of now, the Crusaders have the best overall record going into conference play, as well as the best offense on a per game basis and the best run differential at +56, more than double next best Texas Lutheran at +27.
Centenary has struggled thus far, posting a record of 5-8 heading into conference play, despite having the best batting average in the conference by a wide margin at an eye-popping .325; Dallas is a distant second with an excellent mark of .293. Despite the discrepancy in wins, it could be a very evenly matched series on paper.
The Gents are inarguably the heavier hitting team with nine homers to Dallas' eight, a .450 to .389 advantage in slugging percentage, and 40 extra base hits to the Crusaders' 26.
As they have all season, the Crusaders will rely heavily on two things: small ball, and their starting rotation. Dallas has leaned into their aptitude for small ball, leading the conference with 33 stolen bases and 27 sacrifice hits, another stat where they are more than double the next best in the conference. Despite having the second least total bases in the conference, they have been ruthlessly efficient at making the most of those runners and getting them across home plate, as they've tallied the most runs per game in the conference.
Plate discipline has been of paramount importance for the team as well, as they are third in walks and first in OBP.
Starting pitching has been Dallas' bread and butter. The three-man rotation of Adrian Montenegro, Dylan Krause, and Marcelo Carrillo II have combined for a 9-0 record with an ERA of 1.96, WHIP of 0.94, and a strikeout rate of 10.83 per nine innings in 78 innings pitched. As a result, the Crusaders have far and away the best team ERA in the conference at 3.12, more than 1.5 points better than second place St. Thomas.
The entire series will be livestreamed on YouTube. Be sure to follow along here at udallasathletics.com and on Twitter and Instagram for all news and updates regarding UD Athletics.