Crusaders Sweep Blackburn

IRVING, Texas - The University of Dallas baseball team won both games of their double header against Blackburn College on Saturday, improving to 8-7 on the year.

GAME 1 - Dallas 13, Blackburn 7

WP: Dylan Krause (2-0)

LP: Cody Moore (0-1)

SV: Adrian Montenegro (1)

Dallas wasted no time getting the offense going in game one.  They led off the first inninig with three straight hits, the third of which was a two-RBI triple to right field by Caleb Hohman.  From there, the Crusaders benefitted from some sloppy play by the Beavers to bring home five more runs before the inning was out, taking a commanding 7-0 lead.

After a quiet second inning, the Beavers struck back in the third.  A pair of base knocks and a pair of defensive miscues by Dallas brought home two runs, and Zach Knox made it four runs in the inning with a two-run homerun to make it a 7-4 ball game.

The Crusaders were blanked for four straight innings, but responded in the sixth with four runs on three hits to extend their lead to 11-4.  They added insurance runs in the seventh and eighth to take a 13-4 lead into the ninth.

Blackburn didn't go down without a fight.  They started the ninth inning with four straight hits to bring in two runs, bringing in one more run on a groundout.  Adrian Montenegro stayed in the game, getting the final out of the inning and securing a four-inning save, having come in for Dylan Krause in the sixth inning.

Besides the blemish of the fourth inning, Krause was nearly untouchable, striking out eight batters in his five innings of work.  Montenegro was similarly stellar, throwing three scoreless innings of relief before the bumpy ninth inning.

Hohman finished the game 3-for-4 with two walks and two RBI.  Brett Castillo was 2-for-5 with an RBI, and Teagan Mansfield was 2-for-4 with two RBI.  Austin Birkhoff led the team with three stolen bases in the game.

GAME 2 - Dallas 20, Blackburn 3 (7 Innings)

WP: Dominic Gill (3-1)

LP: Jason Hedges (1-2)

Game two was tight in the early innings.  Blackburn got things going in the first, taking a 1-0 lead on a two-out RBI double.  The Crusaders answered back with a two-out RBI single by Castillo in the bottom of the inning.

A couple of weak flares and a double gave the Beavers two more runs and the 3-1 lead in the second inning, despite Dominic Gill largely dominating on the mound for Dallas.  The Crusaders pulled one back in the bottom of the second, but trailed 3-2 through the next one and a half scoreless innings.

Then, the bats woke up in the bottom of the fourth.  Three straight hits to open the inning tied the game up, then Tyler Darnell brought the go-ahead run home on a well placed bunt that he nearly beat out for a base hit.  A walk and a knock brought home the third run, then an error and a single by Andrew Gaspar made it five runs in the inning to give UD the 7-3 lead.

Gill retired his sixth batter in a row for a scoreless top of the fifth, then Dallas piled on eight runs on five hits to take a commanding 15-3 lead.  They made it 20-3 in the sixth, scoring five runs without a single hit.

Gill went the distance, setting the Beavers down 1-2-3 in the seventh for the complete game win.  He struck out nine and walked one in his seven innings of work.

Jake Amoroso reached base in all six of his plate appearances, going 4-for-4 with two walks, a double, and an RBI.  Castillo was a perfect 4-for-4 with three singles, a double, and four RBI, finishing the day 6-for-9 with five RBI.  Gaspar was 3-for-4 with three RBI in the game.

Up Next

The Crusaders have one more tune up before conference play start.  They will host Hardin-Simmons for a single game on Tuesday, March 14 at 2:00 p.m.