SHERMAN, Texas - The Austin College baseball team dropped a pair of games to the University of Dallas on Saturday, coming up short in an 8-5 game one defeat before falling 9-0 in game two.
The 'Roos jumped out to a 2-0 game in the first inning of game one on a 2-run double by Asher Thompson, with Dallas getting one run back in the second to cut Austin College's lead in half. That remained the score until the fourth, when defensive miscues opened the door for a quartet of unearned runs for the Crusaders to put them on top 5-2. The Crusaders added a run in the fifth and another in the seventh to make it a 7-2 game, before Tripp Thoms scored on an error and Brandon Hill drove in a run in the bottom half of that inning to cut it to a 7-4 game.
Dallas got one more run in the eighth to make it 8-4, and Thoms would score again on an error in the bottom of the ninth to make it 8-5. However, that's as close as the 'Roos would get in their final time at bat. Garrett Gray took the loss for Austin College, giving up five runs - only one earned - on five hits in 3.1 innings of action. Thoms and Thompson both went 3-for-4 for the 'Roos, while Dylan Krause got the win for Dallas after striking out seven batters while allowing four runs on eight hits in 6.1 innings of work.
Game two was a pitcher's duel through six innings, with the first five of those scoreless before the Crusaders finally got a run on the board against Trystan Mallory to make it 1-0 heading into the seventh. After another scoreless frame, Dallas was able to take advantage of Austin College errors to plate six runs, five of which ended up being unearned, as they took control of the game and made it 7-0. The Crusaders would add two more runs in the top of the ninth to make it 9-0, and Austin College was unable to muster any offense in the bottom half of the inning as things ended 9-0.
Mallory absorbed the loss for Austin College, giving up just one run on four hits with five strikeouts in 6.0 innings of work, while Scott Hosmer and Greg Smith each had a pair of hits for the 'Roos. Dominic Gill earned the win for UD after pitching 8.0 scoreless innings with seven strikeouts, allowing six hits in the game. Paxton Huff went 2-for-4 with four RBI to lead the Crusaders at the plate.