Baseball got back on track today with two SCAC victories of University of Dallas.
Game 1 UST 4 UD 3
St. Thomas started strong in the first inning, with Timothy Mansell driving in Kyle Bearden on a single through the right side. Mansell then capitalized on an error by the left fielder, allowing him to score and giving St. Thomas an early 2-0 lead.
Dallas fought back in the third inning, with Caleb Hohman smashing a double down the left field line, bringing in David Laranjo and Walker Alsobrooks to tie the game at 2-2. Andrew Gaspar's groundout to shortstop then brought in Fernando Davila, putting Dallas ahead 3-2.
St. Thomas responded in the fifth inning when Alex Trinh's single up the middle brought Jarod Smith home, tying the game once again at 3-3.
The game remained deadlocked until the ninth inning when St. Thomas' Gabe Garner stepped up and launched a solo home run to left field, giving his team a crucial 4-3 lead.
Pitcher Landon Murray delivered a solid performance for St. Thomas, pitching seven innings and allowing just two hits and three runs while striking out seven batters. Walker Holzhausen and Kameron Craig also contributed with solid relief pitching to secure the win.
For Dallas, pitcher Adrian Montenegro had a strong outing, going eight innings and allowing three runs (none earned) while striking out seven batters. However, Collin Johnson, who came in for relief in the ninth, surrendered the go-ahead home run to Garner, resulting in the loss.
St. Thomas' resilience and Garner's late heroics propelled them to victory in a hard-fought contest against Dallas.
Game 2 UST 7 UD 4
St. Thomas took control early, scoring four runs in the third inning. Kyle Bearden started the scoring with a single to center field, bringing in Israel Fields. Mason Seay then delivered a massive blow with a three-run homer to left field, extending St. Thomas' lead to 4-0.
Dallas responded in the bottom of the third when Paxton Huff launched a solo home run to left field, putting Dallas on the scoreboard. Later in the inning, a wild pitch allowed Fernando Davila to score, cutting St. Thomas' lead to 4-2.
In the fifth inning, Alex Trinh's single through the right side brought in Fields, extending St. Thomas' lead to 5-2. However, Dallas fought back again in the bottom half of the inning, with Andrew Gaspar's single through the left side driving in Huff to make it 5-3.
St. Thomas added another run in the seventh inning when Jarod Smith's single to center field brought in Gabe Garner, stretching their lead to 6-3.
Dallas managed to narrow the gap once more in the bottom of the seventh when Gaspar grounded out to shortstop, allowing Huff to score and bringing the score to 6-4.
However, St. Thomas secured the victory in the ninth inning when Smith's single to right field brought in Garner, sealing the 7-4 win.
Pitcher Kadin Munson started on the mound for St. Thomas, pitching 4.1 innings and allowing three runs. Luke Sebesta earned the win in relief, pitching 2.1 innings and allowing just one run.
For Dallas, pitcher Dylan Krause started strong but struggled in the later innings, pitching 5.1 innings and allowing five runs.
St. Thomas' potent offense and solid pitching performance secured the victory, handing Dallas a tough loss on their home turf.
