SERIES PREVIEW: Dallas vs. Arlington Baptist College (4/24) | (4/25; DH)
MULTIMEDIA COVERAGE
Video (Weather permitting)
FIRST PITCH
The University of Dallas baseball team (8-26) concludes the regular season on Friday, April 24-25 with a three-game series versus Arlington Baptist College (20-25). First pitch in the opener is 3:30 p.m., and the doubleheader on Saturday is slated for 12 p.m. The first of the double dip is set for seven innings, with the finale of the season a nine inning affair.
Dallas is 2-13 at home and is looking to end a 12-game slide at the confines in Irving, Texas. The Crusaders are also 4-12 against opponents outside the conference, and are 2-4 when facing non-conference foes on the home turf.
MOST RECENT ACTION
The Crusaders claimed their second Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) series win this year at Austin College, 2-1. UD fell in the opener 2-1, and then powered its way to a pair of high-scoring affairs with 9-4 and 10-9 results.
In game one, senior Martin Cronin (The Woodlands, Texas) went eight innings for the third time this campaign, and allowed a season-low one run when pitching at least seven. Other than a home run by fellow classmate Anthony Armstrong (Richardson, Texas), the Navy and White offense was limited to four hits. Armstrong's blast put the Crusaders ahead, but AC scored once in the eighth and ninth to walk-off.
Dallas found the win column for the first time since March 15 at Schreiner University, utilizing a five-run second inning to propel the squad to an eventual 9-1 advantage. Senior Trevor Keele (Edgewood, Texas) and Armstrong notched a pair of runs batted in apiece to lead the run production. Sophomores Avery Arnold (McKinney, Texas) and Alex Stack (Keller, Texas), and Armstrong were among five multi-hit performers and ripped a double each.
The finale reflected UD scoring a season-high five runs in the first inning, and tying the most runs scored in a single-frame. It was also the Crusaders' third double-digit scoring contest this spring. Austin College countered with five in the fourth to take an 8-7 advantage, and would tack a run on in the fifth.
After the visitors tied things in the seventh, junior Luciano Villanueva (San Antonio, Texas) launched an eventual game-winning homer in the ninth. Keele completed his four-inning shutout baseball to get the winning decision. The Edgewood, Texas, native matched a season-best five punch outs, and got the biggest one with bases loaded to conclude the nail-biter.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Villanueva leads the Dallas squad with a .319 batting average and is tied with Keele for most hits with 36 and total bases with 50. Villanueva's heroic long ball gave the outfielder the team-lead with three overall, and 17 RBI.
Keele is tied with Armstrong with two as the trio has combined for seven of UD's eight. Keele is batting .298 and has recorded six doubles and tied Villanueva for runs scored with 19. Stack has crossed the plate 20 times for a team-high is batting .280.
Freshman Patch Healy (Plano,Texas) and Keele round out a trio of double-digit run producers with 12 and 10, respectively. Senior Jake Pierce is hitting .298.
Sophomore Ryan Hammonds (Cedar Hill, Texas) won his second outing in the last start and has logged a team-most 61.2 innings and struck out 46 batters. Hammonds has displayed a 3.50 ERA.
Cronin has logged 55.2 innings and struck out 34 batters. The right-hander has made a team-high 12 starts. Keele has gone 12 innings and picked up two wins in relief while allowing only one run for a 0.75 ERA. He has fanned 19 on the year.
SCOUTING ARLINGTON BAPTIST
The Patriots have won their last five games in a row, taking a 9-1 victory from Dallas Christian College on Tuesday. ABC has scored 44 runs over this recent streak of success, posting double figures in the run column twice. That feat has happened in nine contests this year for Arlington Baptist.
This weekend's opponent for Dallas is 8-14 in away games, and have played four times dating back to digital archives in 2010. The Navy and White went 3-1 in those affairs, with the most recent being a 12-1 triumph in 2012 at Arlington, Texas. The previous campaign, the Crusaders won 7-2, and split two seven-inning matchups at Crusader Field. Game one was a 4-1 final and Game two was a 7-4 setback.
SENIOR DAY
Between the twinbill on Saturday, Dallas will honor seven senior athletes taking the field one last time for the baseball program. These include: Nolan Kipp (Folsom, Calif.), Hunter Berry (Keller, Texas), Zack Boylson (Fairview, Texas), Armstrong, Keele, Pierce, and Cronin.
SOCIAL MEDIA
UD Twitter: @UDallasSports
UD Baseball Twitter: @UDallasBaseball
Facebook: University of Dallas Athletics
