@UDallasBaseball split midweek series with Dallas Christian College
FARMERS BRANCH, Texas – It was a battle of the Crusaders in a Wednesday non-conference doubleheader at Dallas Christian College. Each team won a seven-inning affair, with the Crusaders from the University of Dallas baseball team prevailing 8-5 in the first bout. Game two went to the home squad 12-6.
Game 1 Recap
Dallas Christian took an early lead with two runs in the second inning, but the road Crusaders responded with eight runs over the next three frames; starting with a four-spot in the third. DCC cut the margin to three with that amount of runs in the seventh, but the Crusaders in navy and white held on.
Ronald Marciniak doubled down the right field line to break the scoreless game. He would come in on a single by Nathan Maxey to give the home team an early edge.
In the next half inning, UD countered with four runs on five hits to gain the advantage and momentum. Junior Luciano Villanueva (San Antonio, Texas) ripped a triple for two RBI that lifted the Crusaders in front 3-2. Freshman Patrick Stratton (Grand Prairie, Texas) added an RBI single. The Crusaders continued building on the lead with three runs in the fourth and one in the fifth. Senior Mark Carlson (Hawthorn Woods, Ill.) smacked a two-run homer to push the lead to 6-2. Overall, Dallas held a 12-10 edge in base hits. Senior Alex Thornton (Fort Worth, Texas) had the other extra base hit, which was the second triple by the squad.
Dallas Christian did close the gap with three runs in its last turn at the plate. With one out and the tying batter at the plate, freshman William Marshall (Frisco, Texas) got two groundouts to secure the win in his second inning of relief. Classmate Eric Felchak (The Woodlands, Texas) also threw two innings from the pen. He was the only pitcher on either side to not surrender a run.
Game 2 Recap
Dallas Christian rolled in the second game to a double-digit lead in the early portion of the game. This included 11 straight runs with nine occurring in the third. UD countered with a pair of three-run frames in the fourth and fifth, but it was not enough.
The home Crusaders scored two in the second frame to stake an early lead. In the next turn to bat, Dallas Christian broke out for nine runs on eight hits. There were no miscues and only one walk, as the Crusaders unleashed an offensive barrage that only required one hit for extra bases. However, it was a big fly that came in the form of a grand slam for Chabriel Pizarro to round out the last runs of the crooked number.
Dallas was outhit 13-10. Thornton and freshman Dane Fuentes (Allen, Texas) recorded doubles for the road team Thornton and junior Trevor Keele (Edgewood, Texas) recorded two-hit games and had an RBI apiece. Thornton scored a team-high twice.
Pizarro only drove in his runs on the dinger. He and Tom Wilson both logged 3-for-4 displays at the plate and crossed home a pair of times.
UD's freshman Blake Palmer (Coppell, Texas) got tagged for eight runs (7 earned) on seven hits. He walked and struck out three. It was an all-rookie staff as Cole Morden (Arlington, Texas), Ryan Hammonds (Cedar Hill, Texas), and Avery Arnold (McKinney, Texas) all threw on the bump.
Up Next
Dallas resumes conference play with Centenary College of Louisiana visiting Irving on March 15-16. The squads met a couple weeks ago in contests that were counted as non-conference. The Crusaders picked up their only three-game sweep of the year in that set.