Baseball drops first two on Saturday versus Southwestern
IRVING, Texas – The University of Dallas baseball team (6-14, 2-3 SCAC) were unable to halt a steady Southwestern University (10-8, 2-0 SCAC) offense on Saturday. Dallas fell 8-1 in the series opener, before being outdone 11-5 in the latter affair of the twin bill.
In game one, Southwestern took advantage of a pair of UD miscues in the field to piece together a four-run third. A Chase Allen double to center field was the big hit in the frame that helped lift the Pirates to an early edge.
The Navy and White committed four errors in the game.
The visitors would extend the edge with a run in the fourth and two in the seventh. Dallas erased the shutout bid with an RBI single down the left field line from senior Hunter Berry (Keller, Texas). The second baseman posted one of six Crusader base knocks, and run that plated sophomore J.P. Fasone (Englewood, Colo.) occurred in the eighth.
Other players joining the hit column were senior Trevor Keele (Edgewood, Texas), freshman Patch Healy (Plano, Texas), senior Nolan Kipp (Folsom, Calif.), sophomore Avery Arnold (McKinney, Texas), and Fasone.
Getting the nod for Dallas and tossing a season-high, eight innings was senior Martin Cronin (The Woodlands, Texas). The righty allowed seven runs (six earned) while walking none and striking out five.
SU was led by Ben Little with two hits, three RBI, and two runs scored. Robert Wehman collected the other multiple hit effort, and Austyn Laird smashed a home run in the fourth inning.
The Crusaders jumped in front early in the second contest of the doubleheader, combining for three through the first two frames.
Sophomore Alex Stack (Keller, Texas) ripped a single through the left side to plate senior Luciano Villanueva (San Antonio, Texas), who started the game off with his only hit of the game.
Adding to the early hitting was Fasone with an infield knock to second base that brought in Kipp, who got on via a walk. After Villanueva got the free pass for his second time on, Fasone scampered home the wild pitch.
It wasn't long for the Black and Gold to nip at the margin by duplicating the tally with a run in the third and pair in the fourth. After a groundout closed the gap to one, Jared Bogosian produced a single to right, which tied things. He was one of six players with two hits or more, as the Pirates garnered 18 overall.
Southwestern claimed its first edge of the contest with a two-run fifth. Both came from long ball shots to left field by the top two hitters in the lineup. Will Cates, who racked up a game-high four knocks, undid the knotted affair with a homer. Little increased the edge with a blast that made it back-to-back for the Pirates.
The duo combined to go seven-of-10 with three RBI, five runs scored, two homers, and a triple.
The home squad bounced back with two in the bottom half, benefitting from a few more blunders by the away team. Berry and Keele both were in scoring position and would advance 90 feet on a balk. A déjà vu moment occurred as Keele raced in on a wild pitch that was ball four to Healy.
A five-run frame in the seventh undid the Crusaders and an extra run in the eighth helped Southwestern earn its first series win its conference-opener.
Keele clinched the only multi-hit performance for Dallas and maintains his six-game hitting streak. Arnold added a knock to give him a one in both affairs.
On the bump and saddled with the setback (1-4) was sophomore Ryan Hammonds (Cedar Hill, Texas). He threw five innings, allowed 10 hits, gave two free passes, and struck out four. Fellow teammates Cole Morden (Arlington, Texas), William Marshall (Frisco, Texas), and Blake Palmer (Coppell, Texas) took the rubber to round out the contest.
Southwestern sent four pitchers to the mound, as Noah Clark ended with a no decision in his 1.2 inning start. He matched three runs with three hits, while walking two and striking out one. Will Preston threw three innings, and Colin Buckley's (1-0) 3.1 frames nabbed the right-hander the victory. He fanned two to go with no walks, no runs, and a pair of hits.
UP NEXT
Dallas will look to take the finale on Sunday with a 1 p.m. start time.