Baseballl takes season series over Arlington Baptist College, splits Friday's doubleheader at Crusader Field
IRVING, Texas - Only eight days after defeating Arlington Baptist College under the lights in the Ballpark in Arlington, the University of Dallas (18-7) once again squared off with the Patriots. The two teams played a doubleheader at Crusader Field on Friday afternoon, where Dallas took Game 1, 4-1, before falling to Arlington Baptist in Game 2, 7-4.
Game 1: Dallas 4, Arlington Baptist 1 Boxscore
The story of the first game of the doubleheader was junior Michael Byers (Manassas, Va./Seton Home School ), who threw a seven inning complete-game three hitter. Though he struggled with command, early, Byers mixed it up well, throwing as many balls as strikes to the Patriot batters.
Dallas continued in their scrappy offensive ways, managing to push across four runs in a variety of ways.
The Crusaders scored the first run of the game in the 2nd inning, as right-fielder Adam Farris (Flower Mound, Texas/Liberty Christian H.S.) and shortstop David Rettinger (San Antonio, Texas/Central Catholic H.S.) led off the inning with hit by pitches. They both advanced to third on a passed ball, and Farris came in to score from third on an error by Arlington Baptist, which allowed the hitter Delano Ponce (Albuquerque, N.M./Albuquerque Academy) to reach first base.
Dallas scored the go ahead run in the bottom of the 3rd inning after center-fielder Brian Shelburne (Portsmouth, R.I./Portsmouth H.S.) reached first base on a walk and then promptly stole second base for his 19th steal of the year. Shelburne moved over to third on a single from Andrew Bossert (Friendswood, Texas/Friendswood H.S.), before being knocked in on an RBI fielder's choice from Farris.
The final two of Dallas' runs came in the 5th and 6th innings. Shelburne proved to be the Crusaders' catalyst yet again, as he singled to lead off the 5th inning before stealing his 20th base of the season. Shelburne then advanced to third on a passed ball before scoring on a fielder's choice hit by Bossert.
In the 6th inning, the Crusaders had a small two-out rally which proved an insurance run. The rally began when second baseman Mark Carlson (Hawthorn Woods, Ill./Home School) reached first on a walk. Designated hitter Devin Arnold (McKinney, Texas/McKinney H.S.) walked to keep the inning alive, before Shelburne knocked in Carlson on an RBI single. Byers closed out the game with a 1-2-3 7th inning to improve his record to 5-1 on the season, while lowering his Earned Run Average (ERA) to 4.36.
Game 2: Dallas 4, Arlington Baptist 7 Boxscore
The back half of the Friday's doubleheader started off well for Dallas, as the 'good guys' led 2-1 after the 2nd inning, but a big six-run 3rd inning by Arlington Baptist proved too much for the Crusaders, who fell 7-4 to the Patriots.
Junior left-handed pitcher Chris Schierhorn (Anchorage, Alaska/South Anchorage H.S.) got the start in Game 2 for Dallas, and he lasted 2.1 innings beforegetting into a jam. Junior right-handed pitcher Michael Schweiss (Parker, Colo./Chaparral H.S.) entered the game in relief, trying to minimize damage with the bases loaded, as the Patriots had already tagged Schierhorn for three runs in the inning.
Schweiss, however, was unsuccesful in his 3rd inning quest, as he walked the first hitter (Langas) he faced, allowing a run (Moreno) to trot home. Schweiss fanned the next batter (Hurst), but the ensuing Patriot (Wood) shot a single up the middle, which scored two-runs much to the chagrin of Schierhorn, who was hit with three more earned runs. Schweiss, in 2.2 innings of work, allowed two hits and a walk, while striking out five Patriots.
Freshman left-handed hurler Dylan Myers (Rosebud, Texas/Rosebud-Lott H.S.) finished the game for Dallas, pitching the 6th and 7th innings. Myers was solid, allowing one hit and striking out one, against seven batters faced.
Offensively, the Crusaders produced four runs on eight hits and two walks throughout the course of the game. Shelburne, "The Steal Machine," stole home in the 1st inning to tie the game, 1-1, after initially singling and advancing two bases on two consecutitve wild pitches. Dallas took the 2-1 lead in the 2nd inning when second baseman Mark Carlson's double scored Rettinger. Rettinger entered scoring position after singling and successfully stealing second base.
Dallas threatened in the 6th inning, scoring two runs off of Wood, the relief pitcher. Arnold started the Crusader rally with a double. A couple batters later, third baseman Trevor Allred (Anchorage, Alaska/South Anchorage H.S.) singled, scoring Arnold. First baseman Andrew Bossert (Friendswood, Texas/Friendswood H.S.) proceeded to single, safely moving Allred over to second. A passed ball advanced Allred and Bossert each another base. Wood then hit Farris with an arrant pitch. Rettinger helped Allred cross homeplate, with a sacrifice fly to center field. This would be all the Crusaders could muster, however, because despite Kerin's single to load the bases, catcher Varea Costello's (Anchorage, Alaska/South Anchorage H.S.) groundout to the second baseman ended the inning.
The game ended to the delight of Arlington Baptist with a double play, as the Patriots held on for a 7-4 win in Game 2, earning a split of the doubleheader. However, with the Game 1 victory, Dallas claimed the season series against the Patriots.
Next game:
Texas Wesleyan University rolls into town on Tuesday, March 29, as Dallas' next opponent. First pitch is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. at Crusader Field, and the game will be streamed online via collegetvticket.com. The Crusaders defeated the Rams, 4-2, in a single nine-inning affair on Wednesday, March 23, in Fort Worth, Texas.