COLLEGEVILLE, MN (05.28.21) - In a wild start to its third-ever national postseason appearance, the UT Dallas baseball team had to rally twice before taking a 14-9 win over defending national champion Chapman in the Comets' first game of the regional round of the NCAA Division III National Championship. The six-team regional tournament is being played at Haugen Field at Becker Park on the campus of Saint John's University.

TOURNAMENT CENTRAL
 
The No. 2-seeded Comets (now 30-10) used three home runs, including their program-record ninth grand slam of the spring, to move on to the winner's bracket of the Collegeville Regional and will next play at 6 p.m. Saturday against fourth-seeded Pacific. The Boxers downed No. 3 seed York, 4-3, in Friday's late game.


 

Fifth-seeded Chapman (now 13-5) was relegated to the loser's bracket and will return to the field at 11 a.m. Saturday in an elimination game against sixth-seeded Scranton. In the first game of the tournament, top-seeded St. Thomas knocked off Scranton, 8-4. St. Thomas will face York on Saturday at 2:30 p.m.

"We just kept fighting, that's exactly what we did," said UTD head coach Shane Shewmake afterwards. "Offensively, we just never gave up. We got a lead, gave it up; then got another lead and gave it up. But the offense just kept clicking and put up 14 runs for us. Obviously, when you score 14 runs, you should win.

"Normally on Day One, you think it's going to be a 3-1 or 3-2 type game. That wasn't the case today, but we found a way to win. It's always better to stay in the winner's  bracket," he said.

The Comets opened the scoring in the bottom of the 1st inning when Zac Vorst laced an opposite field, stand-up triple down the right field line to plate A.J. Liu from second base. Jacob Perry would later double the UTD lead to 2-0 in the bottom of the 3rd nearly single-handedly, as he led off the frame with a bunt single, stole second and third and came home on a sacrifice fly by Ramon Garza. Perry's single extended his hitting streak to 19 straight games.
 
Chapman answered with a run in the top of the 4th to cut the lead in half, but would leave two runners on base when the third out was recorded. The Comets got the run back in the bottom of the frame with an RBI double by Marcos Villegas, scoring Deylan Moreno.
 
However, the Panthers answered again in the 5th, this time with a triple followed by back-to-back home runs by Mack Cheli and Cooper Foard, all with two outs, to give Chapman a 4-3 advantage in the top of the 5th. The Panthers would extend their lead to 5-3 in the 6th on a squeeze bunt with runners on the corners.
 
No stranger to the big inning this spring, the Comets responded with six runs in the bottom of the 6th, which included their grand slam home run. UTD loaded the bases without an out to kick off its at bat and started the six-run barrage with a bases-loaded walk drawn by Daniel Zamora. Hunter Cheek then evened the game with a high-chopper to shortstop, allowing Moreno to scamper home. Keagan Vance then blasted his second home run of the year, both grand slams, to lift the Comets to a 9-5 cushion.
 
The Panthers clawed back in the top of the 7th with four runs, the final three off a bases-clearing triple by Henry Zeisler, to tie the game once more, 9-9. But, Daniel Zamora pushed the Comets back on top with two outs in the bottom of the frame with a solo shot down the left field line, his team-leading 10th of the season.
 
Chapman threatened to take back the lead in the top of the 8th, loading the bases with no outs, but a strikeout by Kenny Garza, normally a starter for UTD, followed by an inning-ending double play kept the Comets on top.
 
The Comets then tacked on four late runs in the bottom of the 8th to pull away for the victory and advance to the winner's bracket. Perry opened the frame with a solo shot to left field, his third of the season, to push the UTD lead to 11-9. The Comets then loaded the bases in the frame without an out, but a fly-out double play looked to end the scoring threat for the Comets. However, that would not be so, as UTD added a run on a wild pitch followed by RBI singles by Zamora and Cheek to regain a five-run cushion heading to the final inning.
 
Comet starting pitcher Carter Cochrane did not factor in the decision as he exited the game with one out in the 6th and UTD trailing the Panthers, 5-3. Ryan Vera (2-0) took over the duties and cleaned up the 6th for the Comets before giving up four runs over 1.2 innings of work. Garza tossed a scoreless 8th before Ben Soule finished the game with a clean 9th frame.
 
Zamora led the Comet offense with a 3-for-4 performance with three RBI and two runs scored while Vorst and Cheek each collected two hits. The Comets were out-hit by Chapman, 16-13.