GRAND PRAIRIE, TX (02.12.17) - An pair of unearned runs cost the UT Dallas baseball team its first loss of the season Sunday afternoon, as the Comets fell, 3-2. to nationally-ranked Texas Lutheran in the final game of an opening weekend tournament at The Ballpark at Grand Prairie.
The 10th-ranked Bulldogs (4-2) scored a pair of runs in the 2nd inning after a dropped fly ball, and rode the lead throughout, scoring what turned out to be the deciding run after UTD's second error of the game in the bottom of the 8th inning. UTD (2-1) got single runs in the 3rd and 9th inning, cutting the lead down to a single run each time before TLU closed out the win.
UTD will face TLU again next weekend in a three-game series after a mid-week game against Texas Wesleyan. The TWU game was originally scheduled for Tuesday, but has been moved to Wednesday afternoon at 3 pm at Sycamore Park in Fort Worth.
UTD's sophomore starter
Jordan Murphy (0-1) took the loss Sunday despite a seven-inning start, allowing just four hits and striking out five TLU hitters. Bulldog starter Clint Johns got the win despite giving up seven hits and a single run in just five innings. The Comets outhit TLU, 13-6, but left 12 runners stranded in the loss, including two in the final frame.
Down 1-0 after two, the Comets scored their first run of the game in the 3rd on a
Josh Covey walk, then back-to-back singles by
Ryan Burciaga and
Barry Casey. Burciaga advanced to third with just one out, but a double play ended the threat for the Comets. UTD also lost base runners on a caught stealing and pickoff.
TLU made it a 3-1 game in the bottom of the 8th with another unearned run after the UTD error, another hit and two wild pitches. The Comets staged a two-out rally in the top of the 9th. Burciaga walked and went to third on a
Barry Casey single. A Patch Healey single then scored Burciaga to make it 3-2. The tying run was in scoring position when a ground ball ended the game.
Burciaga and Casey each tallied three hits in the loss while Healy and
Luke Richter combined to go 4-for-7. Casey and Healy each picked up RBIs in the game.
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