SERIES PREVIEW: Dallas at Schreiner University (3/14; DH) | (3/15)
(Photo Graphic Courtesy of Hannah Miller)
MULTIMEDIA COVERAGE
FIRST PITCH
The University of Dallas baseball team (4-11) opens Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) action on March 14-15 at Schreiner University (3-12). The three-game set begins with a doubleheader on Saturday at 12 p.m., with conclusion the next day at 1 p.m.
Dallas is looking to end a nine-game skid as it enters league play with a series that will close an eight-game road trip. The season-long stint was originally nine contests, but field conditions postponed Wednesday's match-up at LeTournea University.
MOST RECENT ACTION
The Crusaders fell in both attempts at ending the streak, with 6-2 and 8-4 setbacks at Howard Payne University on Tuesday. Both affairs in the twinbill were seven innings, as UD claimed an early edge in the opener.
In the bottom of the fourth, the YellowJackets strung together a five-run frame to lift the home squad ahead for good. HPU tacked an insurance run in the fifth to complete the scoring in the first contest.
Game two witnessed Howard Payne jump out to a 5-0 advantage through the first two innings, and would counter the Navy and White's attempt at cutting things in the fourth with another pair of its own.
Dallas did combine for 13 hits, as senior Luciano Villanueva (San Antonio, Texas), sophomore Alex Stack (Keller, Texas), and junior Jake Piece (Tucson, Ariz.) all had a multiple hit effort in one of the games.
Senior Trevor Keele (Edgwood, Texas) and freshman Patch Healy (Plano, Texas) each knocked in a run on a double for their lone hit of the nightcap. Healy boasted an RBI in both contests to go along with two hits in four at-bats (.500) altogether.
QUICK HITS
Stack continues to pace the batting average leaders on the team with a .375 clip from a team-most 18 hits. Six batters for UD have posted double figures in that category in this campaign. The third baseman also has crossed the plate 13 times for a team-high.
Villanueva is right behind and completes the duo of players with an average over .300 (at least 40 at bats) at the .357 mark. The native of San Antonio was tabbed on the D3baseball.com Team of the Week as the designated hitter.
He ranks second on the team with 15 hits, which includes a double, triple, and home run. The senior is tied for haven driven in the highest amount of base runners with eight. Senior Nolan Kipp (Folsom, Calif.) has also matched that total.
Keele is hitting .264 on the campaign, but has powered a team-high two long balls and driven in seven RBI. The first baseman has crossed the plate 12 times, five of which have come on the road trip. He also displayed a three-for-three performance in a contest last Saturday at East Texas Baptist University.
Senior Martin Cronin (The Woodlands, Texas) tossed two shutout innings of one-hit ball in the first affair against Howard Payne. He also fanned three batters, while sophomore Blake Palmer (Coppell, Texas) sat down four via strikeout in 2.2 innings.
Logging a team-high 24 innings with five appearances (four starts) is sophomore Ryan Hammonds (Cedar Hill, Texas). The righty has allowed 13 runs on 29 hits while walking five. He also has recorded 19 punch outs.
SCOUTING THE MOUNTAINEERS
Schreiner has dropped three in a row, after being swept by No. 18 Trinity University last weekend at the time. The final scores were 4-1, 5-3, and 10-2 in that respective order. SU has prevailed in all of the squad's victories at the friendly confines in Kerrville, Texas.
Dallas was supposed to play the Mountaineers in a non-conference series a couple weeks ago at Crusader Field, but icy conditions washed those games away.
The Maroon and White has one player above .300 in batting average, with Jayme Kidder tallying a .315 clip. He also has ripped two doubles and triples to go along with a team-most 11 RBI. Bret Hill has chipped in a .295 average and matched team-bests in total bases at 23 and runs scored at eight.
Schreiner has blasted one homer as a team, and Hill also has been responsible for that round-tripper. He sits in second on the team with seven runs batted in as well.
On the bump, Kidder has toed it for five starts, while amassing a .265 ERA with a team-leading 34 innings and 23 strikeouts. Charlie Stewart has made seven appearances (two starts), while boasting a 1.26 ERA in 14.1 innings. He has also closed out two of the Mountaineers' three saves. Ryan Martin picked up the other one, and has a 2.57 ERA.
The conference office picked Schreiner in the preseason poll to finish sixth right behind the University of Dallas.
HISTORY
Last season Dallas went 7-11 versus SCAC opponents, while the Mountaineers were 6-12. In head-to-head matchups the Crusaders won the three-game series, 2-1, at Irving, Texas. UD won 15-0 and 2-1 in a doubleheader, before dropping the finale the next day, 7-2.
In the 15-run outing, plenty of contributors helped scatter the team's 17 base knocks, but Keele and Villanueva remain on the current roster with big contests; with four and two, respectively. The duo crossed the plate three times apiece combined for three stolen bases. Villanueva swiped two and added a double in his hit results.
Cronin and Hammonds pitched in the route, combining for two hits (one allowed each) in the seven-inning contest. Cronin fanned five and walked one through six frames.
In the nightcap, junior Denton Martin (Denton, Texas) turned in a stellar eight inning performance with seven punch outs. He allowed the only Schreiner run (unearned) off five hits and walked none. Keele closed out the save with only a runner reaching via a walk.
UD did manage seven hits with five coming from sophomore Avery Arnold (McKinney, Texas) and Kipp.
It was the first time the programs had met on the diamond dating back to 2010. SU is in its second year in the league, while Dallas is in its fourth.
In the Mountaineer's victory, a pair of four-for-five afternoons in the box for Chase Valdez and Marco Carreon helped amount to 18 hits overall by the road squad. Blake Rowan added two hits and an RBI.
UP NEXT
Dallas expects to be home again after being away from Crusader Field since Feb. 18 next weekend for a conference series against Southwestern University. The three-game set is slated for two on March 14 beginning at 12 p.m., and the finale on March 15 at 1 p.m.
SOCIAL MEDIA
UD Twitter: @UDallasSports
UD Baseball Twitter: @UDallasBaseball
Facebook: University of Dallas Athletics