RICHARDSON, TX (02.19.10) – Nonplussed about their starting rotation, the Comets, just three games into their 2010 season, may have found a new mainstay in their pitching staff.
Marvin Prestridge, a junior transfer from Howard Junior College, recorded eight strikeouts and retired the last 18 batters he faced as the Comets cruised to a 6-1 win over Hardin-Simmons in their home opener on Friday.
Prestridge labored in the opening two innings, allowing five hits and one run. Unflappable, he settled down and found his niche midway through the third, one of the seven shutout innings that he posted. He issued just one walk throughout.
“He did an outstanding job,” said UTD coach
Shane Shewmake. “That's one of the better pitching performances we've seen around here in a long time. He stepped up when he needed to and saved our bullpen for tomorrow.”
Prestridge (1-0) pitched five innings and gave up only one run in UTD's 8-7 win over Mary Hardin-Baylor nearly two weeks ago at the Easton Classic in Tyler, TX. He has given up 11 hits in 13 innings of work so far this spring, but Friday's masterful display on the mound was encouraging for a UTD pitching staff that had a 6.76 team ERA in 2009.
On Friday, UTD's
Randy Lorber went 4 for 4 at the plate—he was the only player on the field to turn in a multi-hit outing—and belted a run-scoring triple that gave the Comets a commanding 4-1 lead in the seventh.
Garet Norton provided some more insurance one inning later, cracking a two-RBI double to deep centerfield.
The Comets trailed in the first, but tied the game 1-1 when
Jacob Starnes scored on a
Jason Diemer sacrifice fly. UTD took the lead—for good—in the fourth when Lorber led off with a single, only to be plated on
Adam Hudec's only hit of the game.
UTD totaled nine hits on a cold, drab afternoon where a stiff wind blew in from the outfield.
“When the wind's blowing in like that, you've got to scratch and claw to get runs,” said Shewmake. “We were able to do a little of that.”
HSU's Tim Kriegel (0-1) was tagged with his first loss of the season on the mound. Skylar Sillivent and Joe Roberson threw in relief for the Cowboys (0-3), who have now lost three straight to UTD.
Adam Spinn made his third appearance of the season in the ninth inning. It wasn't a save situation for UTD's closer, but he did retire all three HSU batters he faced.
UTD (2-1) will wrap up a three-game series with the Cowboys in a doubleheader that is slated to start at 12:00 pm on Saturday. With Friday's win, the Comets are now 14-9 all-time against HSU. They were 3-2 against the Cowboys last spring.
“It was a nice win,” said Shewmake. “I'm sure the guys were a little nervous coming into the first ballgame (at home), but they handled it well and did what they had to. Hopefully we'll get two more tomorrow.”
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