TYLER, TX (03.27.10) – Offense was not a problem for the UT Dallas baseball team in its weekend series with  American Southwest Conference East Division-leading UT Tyler. The real problem was stopping a Patriot offense that always seemed to be able to do the Comets one better in sweeping a three-game weekend set.

The Patriots (now 19-7 overall) kept their ASC East Division record spotless at 8-0 by posting their third consecutive series sweep over a conference foe, this time handing the Comets losses of 8-4, 5-3 and 17-10.

UTD (now 13-10 overall), which slipped back into 4th place in the ASC East race at 3-5, saw late leads slip away in each of the first two games of the series. The Comets outhit the Patriots in both games, but left a combined 36 runners on base in the three games and gave up 7 unearned runs as a result of errors.

Randy Lorber gave the Comets an eight-hit weekend.

FRIDAY: UT TYLER 8, UTD 4 (Boxscore)

UTD (13-8, which had been out-hitting the league-leading Patriots (17-7, 6-0) the entire game, finally was able to rally from a 3-1 deficit with a three-run 8th inning only to see three walks, a wild pitch and an error open the door to a five-run Patriot rally against UTD closer Adam Spinn.

Spinn saw his 7th save opportunity of the season blow up in his face after getting two of the first three hitters he faced out. A pair of walks loaded the bases, then the game-tying run scored on an error charged to UTD shortstop Jacob Starnes. From there, things came completely unraveled as another walk, a wild pitch and a two-run double put four more runs on the board. None of the five runs that Spinn surrendered were earned.

Until that point, the Comets had been waiting to explode offensively the entire game. Going into the 8th, UTD had a 12-5 advantage in hits, but had stranded 12 base runners through the first seven innings. Starter Cameron Brown gave up just five hits in a five-inning start, but he walked five batters and his fifth hit of the night was a two-run homer to UTT's Cody Jones that gave the Patriots a 3-1 lead in the 5th.

UTD got a single run in the 2nd to take an early 1-0 lead when Matt Kelly and Starnes both doubled with two outs. Down 3-1 after seven innings, the Comets scored three in the 8th and should have had more.

Grant Friddell led off with a double and Kelly walked to chase Tyler starter Matt Sparks. Larry Bolding greeted Patriot ace reliever Matt Schimpf with an RBI single to cut the lead to one. A Starnes single loaded the bases again, and then Kelly and Bolding scored on a wild pitch and Schimpf walk before Logan Chitwood came in to strike out a pair with the bases loaded.

Starnes was 3-for-6 for the Comets in the game. 

SATURDAY GAME 1: UT TYLER 5, UTD 3 (BOXSCORE)

The Comets again picked the wrong time to give up a big inning to the opposition, blowing a 3-2 lead in the 6th inning of the seven-inning game, and wasted a decent pitching outing from Larry Bolding.

The Patriots struck for three runs in their half of the 6th, scoring a pair of unearned runs after Bolding himself committed a costly error that would have ended the threat with a tie score.

UTD took an early lead when Garet Norton doubled home Kyle Guest and Drew Hallford in the 2nd inning, but the Patriots were able to counter with a four-hit inning in the 4th, tying the score and leaving the bases loaded. mIn the 5th,

Joseph Killgore led a Comet rally with a two-out RBI single that scored Starnes. The Comets had a chance to add to their lead in the 5th, but left runners stranded at second and third with a double-play ball that ended the inning.

Bolding, who gave up just three earned runs and struck out four in his seven-inning start, gave up a one-out triple that tied the score in the 6th, then threw away a ground ball that allowed the go-ahead run to score and the batter to reach third base, setting up another run. The Comets did get the tying runs on base in the top of the 7th, but could not bring them home.

Adam Hudec joined Lorber with a pair of hits in the game for UTD.

SATURDAY GAME 2: UT TYLER 17, UTD 10 (Boxscore)

UTD's depleted pitching staff finally caught up to them in the series finale as four pitchers surrendered 21 hits and gave up 17 runs - all earned.

Still, the Comets again had a lead (albeit an early one this time) that they let get away from them. Down 2-0 after one, UTD put five runs on the board in the 2nd inning with a four-hit attack. Bolding's 2-RBI single was a key blow. But again, the Comets left runners on board when a double play ended the threat.

The Patriots were not to be bothered as they answered with four runs in each of the 3rd and 4th innings and were up 10-5 before UTD scored again in the 6th on a Lorber homerun. UTT answered, though with a single run in the bottom of the frame and added two more in the 7th to start putting the game out of reach. A Hallford RBI and a wild pitch gave UTD a pair in the 8th, and the Comets added two more in the 9th on a Kelly home run and Killgore sacrifice fly.

UTD pitchers gave up six extra-base hits in the game, including three home runs.

The good news for the Comets is that they've already played the three teams ahead of them in the ASC East standings, and finish the season in a couple of weeks with series against the bottom three teams in the conference standings. UTD needs to finish in the top four of the East Division standings to qualify for the ASC post-season playoffs.