FRISCO, TX (02.14.15) - The UT Dallas baseball team needed every run they could manufacture Saturday evening in pulling out a 9-8 victory over Carleton College (MN) at the Frisco Tournament at Dr. Pepper Ballpark.
The Comets (2-4) scored in six of eight innings at the plate, but still had to fight their way through a four-run rally by the Knights (1-2) in the top of the 9th inning to claim the win. Carleton had the bases loaded and the tying run just 90 feet away before the Knights' Griffin Bolte got caught in a rundown off third base to end the game.
Jimmy Norris drove in four runs for the Comets with a pair of hits, including a two-RBI triple in the 8th. Second baseman
Tim Cole went 3-for-4 and scored a pair of runs.
Brandon George drove in two more with a 5th-inning home run, UTD's first round-tripper of the season.
The Comet bats, which belted out 10 hits, made a winner of sophomore
Clayton Buckner, who gave up just one run on five hits in the first five innings and left with a 5-1 lead. The relief staff, however, kept the outcome in doubt, giving up eight of the Knights' 13 hits in the final four frames as well as four walks and a pair of wild pitches. Three UTD errors led to five unearned runs in that same stretch.
Aaron Bach got the save for UTD.
The Knights struck first, putting together a pair of hits to take a 1-0 lead in the top of the 2nd inning. But UTD benefitted by three Carleton errors in the bottom of the frame, combining RBI hits from
Brandon Clounch and
Haden Johnson to move on top to stay at 2-1.
From there, the Comets started stretching out their lead. Clounch delivered an RBI double in the 3rd to score George. Carleton loaded up the bases with three hits in the top of the 4th, but Buckner was able to pitch out of the jam and keep the 3-1 lead. UTD then responded with another one-run inning in the 4th when Norris brought home Cole to make it 4-1. George's solo shot in the 5th gave UTD a 5-1 advantage.
Carleton shaved the lead down to 5-3 with a pair of runs in the top of the 6th, but UTD was able to answer with a pair of squeeze bunts and took a 7-3 lead into the 7th.
Carleton got another single run back in the 8th, but Norris answered that with the two-out, two-RBI triple in UTD's last at-bat to go up, 9-4. Things then nearly came unraveled as the Knights used four hits, an error and a couple of wild pitches to cut it to a one-run game and load the bases before the game ended with the runner being picked off.
The Comets are back in action Sunday afternoon at 1:30 pm against Frisco Tournament host Hendrix College (2-1). UTD opens American Southwest Conference play next weekend at home against East Texas Baptist.
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