Centenary claims Saturday Sweep over @UDallasBaseball
IRVING, Texas – The University of Dallas baseball team (11-11, 1-4 SCAC) dropped a twinbill to Centenary College of Louisiana (8-10, 2-0 SCAC) on a chilly day at Crusader Field. The Gents edged UD in 11 innings – the first extra inning contest for the home team this year – by a final of 5-4. The second matchup was a slugfest with Centenary earning a 19-12 result.
Game 1 Recap
Centenary took an early lead with a pair of runs in the first. The Crusaders got a run back in the third and two in the fourth for their first edge. Similar to the earlier meetings in Shreveport, that offense appeared to be enough as the pitching looked to do what it did when it held the Maroon and White to a combined five runs (1 per game in first two) en route to a sweep.
However, the Gents struck for a run in the sixth to tie things again. It was back-and-forth as Dallas got in front again in the home half of the seventh. Senior Alex Thornton (Fort Worth, Texas) launched a home run for the go-ahead shot at making it 4-3. An eighth inning balk scored Aaron Quintanilla and forced extras.
Adam Wilson smacked the game-winning double for the road team in the eleventh to plate Nic Parrot. Parrot had been hit by a pitch with one out and scored from first. However, UD's sophomore Brian Donley (Chicago, Ill.) got an inning-ending double play with runners on the corners to hold the deficit there. After UD made an out, it got some chances with a walk and error on back-to-back plays. Two strikeouts in a row ended the dramatic battle.
Centenary held a 13-10 edge in hits. A quintet of hitters for the Gents recorded multiple hit showings. Senior Mark Carlson (Hawthorn Woods, Ill.) posted a game-high in hits (3), an RBI, and run scored. Junior Luciano Villanueva added the team's other multi-hit game with a 2-for-4 and runs scored. Dallas drew six walks with each coming from a different individual. Junior Martin Cronin (The Woodlands, Texas) went nine innings in the no decision. He yielded one earned run on 10 hits and struck out five. Centenary's Paul Arcement got the save with a scoreless final inning.
Game 2 Recap
After a lengthy game one, the team's settled in for a high scoring shortened contest that lasted seven. Centenary struck for two runs in its first at bat for the second time that day. Both runs-batted-in occurred on balls not put in play with a walk and hit by pitch, respectively. The Gents erupted for nine runs in the third to build an 11-run edge.
Mark Martinez punctuated the mammoth frame with a grand slam for the remaining runs. That was the first hit for Centenary in six batters, as Christian Sebastien had the last one on an RBI-single to right center that scored two. Between them were three walks and two batters plunked. After a second out was recorded on a fly out, things unraveled over the next six plate appearances that was capped by Martinez's round-tripper. Three of those situations happened with the bases juiced. The Gents only had three hits in that inning overall.
Dallas allowed the first 14 runs before scrapping back with 12 of the next 16. Keeled singled to left center in the fifth to score two and end the shutout bid. A triple by Centenary's Parrott got those runs back in the top of the sixth. The bottom half showed UD's chance at posting a large number of runs in a short span as eight runners came home. The Crusaders also benefitted from walks as five alone counted as runs-batted-in. Keele had the only RBI hit in that sequence. He would finish with a game-high of six and had a 3-for-5 game.
Despite that wild inning, the Crusaders remained down 16-10. A pair of runs in the last frame rounded out the score. Each side drew nine walks as the pitching staffs struggled with command. The Gents were led at the plate by Dakota Brown with a 3-for-4 and three runs scored. Behind Martinez's grand slam were a trio of players with three ribbies each. This unit includes: Chris Jones, Parrott, and Sebastian.
Up Next
Dallas looks to salvage a game on Sunday.