GEORGETOWN – It was a record breaking afternoon on Saturday as the Southwestern University baseball swept the University of Dallas to earn the final spot in the SCAC Postseason Tournament early next month.
Southwestern was able to get timely hitting in game one taking an 11-3 win over Dallas in game one. Game two saw the Pirates come back in the bottom of the 10th inning to take an 8-7 win and improve to 13-26 on the season and 10-8 in league play.
Underclassmen helped play a role in the extra inning win that also helped aid Southwestern in a sweep of University of Dallas.
Ethan Luna placed a seeing-eye single through the left side that scored Mason Jeansonne giving the Pirates the 8-7 win in 10 innings. Jeansonne had led off the inning with a walk and was able to move to third before Luna's two out base hit ended the game.
Luna finished 2-for-2 with two RBIs and stole one of the eight bases the Pirates swiped on Saturday that set the single-game school record. The Pirates also cracked the century mark in stolen bases for the first time in program history breaking the single-season record of stolen bases (93) set in 2002. The Pirates also rank in the top five in NCAA Division III in stolen bases this season.
All five seniors played in their final home game of their career and earned an unconventional start in the finale. Jason Stading started in right field, Tyler Poi started at first base, Colten Seeton got the start on the mound, Tyler Herriage started at second and Zach Lynch earned the start at third base.
The seniors had helped the Pirates take a 4-2 lead before exiting in the top of the fifth, however once the seniors left the Crusaders started their comeback. A pair of walks and three hit batters helped Dallas plate three runs to take a 5-4 lead.
Southwestern battled back to tie the game in the bottom of the fifth when Ketchum Marsh singled home Will Burks making it a 5-5 ballgame. Burks finished 2-for-3 with three RBIs and a pair of triples.
Dallas still would not roll over as the Crusaders regained the lead again in the seventh taking a 7-5 lead on a two RBI double from Alex Thornton.
Just as they had done the final weeks of the season the Pirates showed grit and tied the game again forcing extra innings adding a run in the eighth and the ninth before winning it in walk-off fashion.
Four of the five seniors saw at least one batter on the mound as the Pirates used 10 pitchers before Dickson Wharton pitched the final two innings to earn the win.
The first game on Saturday saw the Pirates fall behind 1-0 in the first inning before battling back to take a 3-1 lead in the third inning. Southwestern took advantage of three hits and an error as Will Cates picked up his first of three RBIs in the inning.
Miscues troubled the Crusaders in game as Dallas committed seven errors in the loss. Three of those errors came in the fourth as the Pirates added three more runs with the help of just one base hit.
Southwestern never looked back as Dallas added two runs in the fifth inning, but the Pirates continued to add to their lead picking up a run on a Clayton Sparks RBI in the fifth and four more in the seventh.
Colten Shea led off the inning with a single before a Charlie St. Clair triple scored Shea. St. Clair and Sparks paced the Pirates finishing with two RBIs in the win as Sparks walked with the bases loaded later in the inning to pick up his second run batted in.
Jacob Kendra earned the win improving to 5-1 on the season scattering three hits in four innings and striking out one. Carl Mueller and Matt Litz combined to pitch the final three innings allowing just two runs and four hits as Litz added three strikeouts.
The Pirates earned the No. 4 seed in the SCAC Postseason Tournament with the sweep. The 2014 SCAC Baseball Championships will take place in San Antonio, Texas on the campus of Trinity University on Friday, May 2nd through Sunday, May 4th. Game times and the official tournament bracket will be posted later this week.
Southwestern will close out the regular season Tuesday as the travel to Abilene for a rematch with Hardin-Simmons. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m.