Crusaders Take Two from TLU to Clinch Series
March 23, 2024
SEGUIN, Texas - The University of Dallas baseball team won both games of their conference doubleheader against Texas Lutheran University on Saturday, improving to 15-4 overall on the year and 3-1 in conference play.
Game 1
Dallas 6, Texas Lutheran 3
WP: Adrian Montenegro (5-1)
LP: Johnny Garza Jr. (2-1)
SV: Collin Johnson (6)
The Bulldogs jumped out to a 3-0 lead with three runs on two hits and an error in the bottom of the second. TLU had a runner on first with one out after scoring all three runs, but Dallas stopped them in their tracks with an inning ending double play.
After that bumpy second inning, Adrian Montenegro buckled down and threw five innings of shutout ball, never allowing more than a single baserunner in each inning.
That opened the door for a comeback by the Crusaders, who slowly, but surely chipped away at the lead. A sac fly by Jake Amoroso (pictured) in the third, a bases loaded walk in the fifth, and an RBI infield single by Amoroso in the sixth made it a tie ballgame at 3-3.
Amoroso wasn't done, as he put the Crusaders on top with a two-run homer in the eighth, the first homer of his career. Collin Johnson came in for Montenegro in the bottom of the eighth, tasked with recording a six-out save.
The sophomore lefty did so with style, striking out four of the seven batters he faced to notch his sixth save of the season and break the UD single season saves record held by UD Hall of Famer Michael Schweiss (5 - 2011).
It was also the Crusaders first win against TLU since the 2021 season.
Game 2
Dallas 5, Texas Lutheran 3
WP: Dylan Krause (5-0)
LP: Nolan McInvale (1-3)
SV: Dominic Gill (1)
The Crusaders jumped on the board first in game two, with RBI doubles by Caleb Hohman and Simon Turner in the first inning.
TLU was quick to respond, tying the game up with a two-out, two-RBI single in the bottom of the second.
Ryan Metcalf gave Dallas the lead for good with an RBI double in the fourth. The Crusaders added two more runs in the inning on a wild pitch and a bunt to make it 5-2.
After TLU scored in the second, Dylan Krause went on to mow batters down, throwing four scoreless innings and striking out four along the way. He left the game after completing the sixth inning with nine strikeouts and just one walk.
Cortez Saenz threw a scoreless seventh, then made way for a scoreless eighth by Dominic Gill. TLU scored a consolation run in the bottom of the ninth, but Gill finished the job to record his first save of the season.
This marks the first time the Crusaders have won a conference series against TLU since 2016, when they took 2-of-3 from the Bulldogs.
The series will conclude tomorrow with a single game at 1:00 pm.