IRVING, Texas – The Celts of the University of St. Thomas reclaimed fourth place in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference baseball standings Saturday thanks to a doubleheader sweep at the University of Dallas.
The visiting Celts (15-22, 9-9 SCAC) run-ruled their hosts in each of Saturday's games, triumphing by a score of 11-1 both times.
UST's doubleheader sweep of UDallas extended the Crusaders' losing streak to 15 consecutive games. The wins also gave the Celts a two-game lead over Southwestern (Texas) for the fourth and final playoff berth into the postseason SCAC Tournament; Southwestern was swept at Centenary (La.) this weekend.
The two-game lead gives the Celts complete control of their playoff chances heading into the final weekend of the regular season on Friday. They will have a battle on their hands as they welcome third-place Centenary (23-13, 13-5 SCAC) to Houston for the weekend. Centenary swept last season's series from the Celts in Shreveport, La.
Meanwhile, Southwestern will host UDallas in Georgetown, Texas for the Pirates' final games of the regular season. If Southwestern catches UST in the standings, the Pirates own the tiebreaker through winning two out of three from the Celts last weekend.
The Celts will host their three-game series against Centenary at Schroeder Park on the campus of the University of Houston. The teams open the series Friday, April 29, at 6 p.m., and will play the final two games Saturday afternoon.
GAME ONE: Celts 11, UDallas 1
UST pitcher Chris Parsons shut out UDallas for the first seven innings before the Celts scored nine runs in the eighth inning that lifted the visitors to a run-rule victory.
Parsons, who struck out a school-record 14 batters last week but did not get a decision in last week's extra-inning win over Southwestern, won for the first time in nearly a month as he allowed just three hits while striking out six batters.
Added to the last four and two-thirds innings he pitched against Southwest, Parsons has now pitched 11 and two-thirds consecutive scoreless frames. He struck out the UDallas side in order in the second inning Saturday.
The Celts took a 2-0 lead in the top of the second inning thanks to back-to-back RBI singles from Knight Newcomb and Brandon Herrera.
Newcombe went 4-for-5 with two RBIs in the game, while Erik Garza and Tristan Pitkin collected three hits and drove in two runs apiece. Herrera went 2-for-4 with three RBIs in Saturday's opener.
UST led off the eighth inning with five consecutive singles with the Celts scoring three runs as a result. Garza hit a two-run home run – his second home run in as many days – to help the Celts during their nine-run inning. Newcomb capped the frame with an RBI double.
With an 11-0 lead to their advantage, Kalob Bacak pitched the final inning for the Celts.
GAME TWO: Celts 11, UDallas 1
UST scored eight unanswered runs in the innings to once claim their 11-1 in as many games.
Tristan Pitkin went 3-for-4 with four RBIs in the contest, while Leo Galvan went 3-for-4 with an RBI and four runs scored batting in the leadoff spot in the order.
The Celts' Cameron McClure went 1-for-4 with two RBIs for the Celts, including a one-run triple in the seventh inning.
On the mound, Luke Sebesta picked up his first win of the season as he allowed just two hits while striking out five UDallas batters. He also earned the compete-game victory.
