Crusaders Lose Back and Forth Battle with Austin

April 13, 2024

SHERMAN, Texas - The University of Dallas softball team lost their conference game against Austin College on Saturday, falling to 3-23 on the year and 0-13 in conference play.

Dallas 5, Austin 11

WP: Alexus Johnson (7-10)

LP: Ava Trevino (0-11)

The Crusaders have been stinging the ball as of late, but have not been able to find the gaps and string hits together.  That finally changed in the second inning of their series opener against the Roos, when they racked up four runs on six hits, all with two outs, to take a 4-1 lead.  

Kailey Sweezey started the scoring with a single through the left side, after Lizette Sosa smacked a two-out double to keep the inning alive.  That was followed by singles from Mackenzie Flocke, Jennifer Schmalz, Bre Barnes, and Isabella Halsey; Barnes drove in two with her knock, while Halsey capped off the inning by driving in Schmalz with her single to center.

Unfortunately for Dallas, hitting is contagious and Austin caught the bug in the bottom half of the inning.  The Roos also did all of their damage with two outs; Elizabeth Preston put Austin on top 5-4 with a grand slam, then Carrie Johnson drove in one more to make it a 6-4 game.

The Crusaders' bats were largely silenced after that, though they sprinkled a few baserunners here and there over the next three innings.  Meanwhile, Austin drove in two runs in the third, again with two outs, to pad their lead and could have had more, but Julia Kruse was able to stop the bleeding after that and leave the bases loaded.

The Roos plated one more run in the fourth to make it 9-4 before the Crusaders pulled a run back in the sixth to make it 9-5 on a two-out RBI single by Barnes.  Any momentum Dallas felt they had at that point was snuffed out in the bottom of the sixth as Austin tacked on two more insurance runs to take a comfortable 11-5 lead.  Dallas was held scoreless in the seventh to seal the win for the Roos.

The series will conclude tomorrow, April 14 with a double header starting at 12:00 pm.