ABILENE, TX (04.12.19) - The UT Dallas baseball team extended its winning streak to a season-long seven games while hitting the .500 mark for the first time this spring as the Comets opened a three-game American Southwest Conference at McMurry Friday with a pair of victories.

The Comets (16-16, 8-6 ASC) held tight to the eighth spot in the ASC standings with seven games left on the slate after a pair of close wins, 7-6 and 11-9, to kick off the three-game set. The two teams will return to the diamond Saturday for a 1 p.m. single game at Walt Driggers Field. A win by the Comets in the series finale could potentially propel the squad to as high as fifth in the ASC with two weekends left in the regular season.

GAME 1 - UTD 7, McM 6
The Comets scored the go-ahead run in the top of the 6th and then had to hold off McMurry's late charge as UTD picked up a 7-6 win over the War Hawks Friday afternoon to open the series.

Tied 5-5 after five, the Comets took advantage of a two-out McMurry error in the top of the 6th that allowed Matt Mikusek to score. Mikusek doubled down the right field line with one out and later moved to third on a War Hawk wild pitch.

UTD then added an insurance run in the top of the 7th on a one-out Austin Adams single to left, scoring Zach Jordan. That run proved necessary as the War Hawks would plate a single run in the bottom of the 7th on a sacrifice fly and ended the game with runners on the corners on a Marty Carnahan ground out to third base.

The Comets opened the scoring with two runs in the top of the 1st on Thomas Craig's team-leading seventh home run of the season, but McM answered with three tallies in the bottom of the frame to take a 3-2 lead. UTD knotted the game in the 3rd with a Dylan Palmer double to left, scoring Craig, and pushed two more runs across in the 4th on a Burciaga single to right, scoring Mikusek and Jacob Perry.

However, McMurry plated single runs in both the 4th and 5th to set up the exciting finish.

Craig was 2-for-2 form the plate with two runs scored and two RBI while Mikusek was 2-for-4 from the lead-off spot with three runs scored.

UTD starter Blake DiValerio did not factor into the decision after giving up four earned runs on six hits in 4.1 innings of work. DiValerio struck out two while issuing just one walk. Carter Cochrane (3-0) picked up the win in relief, tossing 1.2 hitless frames with one strikeout. Logan McPherson earned the save, giving up one run on two hits in the 7th.

GAME 2 - UTD 11, McM 9
The Comets jumped out to a big lead and then had to once again hold off McMurry late in an 11-9 win to close out Friday's doubleheader sweep of the War Hawks.

UTD plated five runs on six hits in the top of the 1st, including a two-run triple by Aaron Fanning to snag an early 5-0 lead. The Comets also added runs on singles by Palmer and Jordan as well as a double by Peyton Becker.

The Comets added a run in the top of the 2nd on a two-out RBI triple to right by Burciaga, scoring Perry, but McMurry answered with a run in the bottom of the 2nd to keep UTD's lead at five runs.

In the top of the 3rd, the Comets added a solo home run by Fanning, his second of the season, and extended their lead to 8-1 when Becker later came home on a one-out wild pitch.

The host War Hawks began their comeback attempt with a single run in the bottom of the 4th and then pushed five runs across on five hits in the bottom of the 7th to draw within one, 8-7.

The Comets answered with three runs in the top of the 8th to extend their lead back to four, 11-7, thanks to an RBI single by Craig followed quickly by a two-run blast by Burciaga, his fifth of the spring.

McMurry scored a run each in the 8th and 9th and left the game-tying run on base after another game-ending groundout.

Burciaga was 3-for-5 with two runs scored and three RBI as the Comets collected 15 hits in the victory. Becker was 2-for-3, Jordan 2-for-4 and Craig and Fanning each finished 2-for-5.

Ryan Vera (3-1) earned the win, allowing six runs on 11 hits with two strikeouts in 6.2 innings pitched. McPherson finished the game for his fifth save of the season, allowing one earned run on two hits with three strikeouts.