Baseball Comes Up Short in First Road Test

Baseball Comes Up Short in First Road Test

The Pirates lost 6-0 and 8-7 in their first games on the road this season to the University of Dallas. 

Things looked promising for Southwestern in the top of the first as Jeff Glassgow and Jay Sterling each singled with one out.  Cruz Luna followed by reaching on a fielder's choice with Sterling getting out at second base.  Then Will Burks drew a two out walk to load the bases, but the Pirates were unable to convert as Tyler Herriage fouled out to right field. 

The Bucs' left a runner on base in the third and fourth innings and two in each of the sixth and seventh innings.  Southwestern was unable to come up with the offense when they needed it and left a total of nine men on base.  Glasgow and Lynch led the Pirates and both went 2-4 in game one.

The University of Dallas meanwhile scored 6 runs on 8 hits. Trevor Keele led the Crusaders by going 2-3 with a double and had 3 runs batted in.  Andrew Bossert earned the win for UD, putting him at 2-1, while Carl Mueller drops to 0-3 with the loss.

The second game was a different story, as Southwestern battled to the very end.

The Crusaders went up 2-0 in the bottom of the second inning, after Matt Farris and Mark Carlson both scored. Southwestern then jumped out in the top of the third to a 4-2 lead. Glasgow hit a double, allowing Colten Shea and Lance Gottardy to score.  Lynch scored on a Cruz Luna single and Jeff Glasgow later crossed the plate on a passed ball.

After Dallas cut the Pirates' lead to 4-3, the Pirates scored two more runs in the top of the seventh inning. With the bases loaded, Ross Meyer drew a walk to allow Glasgow to score.  Burks then singled to bring home Luna to make it 6-3.

However, in the bottom half, the Crusaders scored 4 more runs to put them up 7-6. Alex Thornton scored after Farris singled. Keele scored on a sacrifice bunt by Jake Pierce. Then Farris scored on an error, and Carlson crossed the plate on a ground out by Taylor Johnson.

In the top of the ninth, Southwestern tied the game up at 7 apiece, when Cruz Luna hit a home run to left field. The defense held in the bottom half to force extra innings. 

UD kept Southwestern off the bases in the top of the tenth, so it was all up to the home team. Alex Thornton reached base after being hit by a pitch.  Keele then had a sacrifice bunt, moving Thornton to second. A wild pitch after that allowed him to advance to third. Carlson later sacrifice bunted, allowing Thornton to score and ended the game at 8-7.

The Pirates had a double, a triple, 6 RBIs, a sacrifice bunt, and two stolen bases. Despite a home run from Cruz Luna, it was still not enough to give the Pirates a win, as they drop to 1-12 on the season and 0-4 in their conference. The University of Dallas Crusaders had a double, 7 RBIs, three sacrifice bunts, a sacrifice fly, and five stolen bases. Both wins allowed the Crusaders to go over the .500 mark, improving them to 7-6 on the season, and are 4-1 in their conference.

The Pirates will close the series tomorrow at 1:00PM at the University of Dallas.