RICHARDSON, TX (04.29.22) - The UT Dallas baseball team entered its final three-game American Southwest Conference series needing just one win to claim the league's No. 2 spot and the right to host a four-team ASC Red Bracket Tournament next weekend; and got it in their first game of a Friday doubleheader with a 3-2 come-from-behind win over Belhaven.

The Comets (28-11, 20-9 ASC) then fell in the second game, 8-0. The Comets and Blazers (25-14, 18-11 ASC) finish up the series with a 12 noon single game Saturday at the UTD Baseball Field.

With the win, however, UTD qualified to be the host site of one of two four-team, double-elimination tournaments the ASC will stage next Thursday-Saturday, May 5-6-7. Participants and game schedules will be announced later this weekend The winners of the Red Bracket and Blue Bracket Tournaments will meet for the ASC title in a best-of-three series May 12-13-14.

DH GAME 1: UTD 3, BELHAVEN 2 (7 innings)

The Comets got the one win that counted, scoring two runs in their half of the 6th of the seven-inning opener with the game winner crossing the plate as a result of a Blazer throwing error with two outs. Closer Orion Drymond then tied a UTD record with his 10th save of the season, throwing a perfect top of the 7th that included two strikeouts to end the game.

The UTD pitching trio of starter Dylan Hugley, Jake Jennings and Drymond held Belhaven to just three hits and recorded nine strikeouts; yet needed the late-inning heroics to overcome a 2-1 deficit and claim the win. 

A three-error top of the 6th had allowed the Blazers to break a 1-1 deadlock without a hit in the inning. But A.J. Liu singled with one out in the Comets' turn at the plate, stole second and tied the game back up on a Marcos Villegas double. After an Andrew Skivington single put runners at the corners, Deylan Moreno hit a slow roller toward third base and the rushed throw sailed down the line for an error. Villegas scored what would become the winning run, and Skivington was thrown out at the plate trying to add an insurance tally.

Jacob Perry led off the game with a single and came home to give the Comets an early 1-0 lead on a Liu single. But Belhaven had tied the game in the 3rd when a bases loaded hit batter forced in the tying run.

Liu was the only Comet with multiple hits.

DH GAME 2: BELHAVEN 8, UTD 0

The Blazers, who could have qualified to host the Red Bracket with a sweep of UTD this weekend, took out their disappointment in the nine-inning Game 2 of the doubleheader, pounding out 13 hits and blanking the Comets, 8-0. It was only the third time UTD had been shut out this season.

The game was billed as a pitching dual between UTD's Carter Cochrane and Belhaven's Brett Sanchez. The problem was it took Cochrane and the Comets two innings to settle down and Sanchez did not allow a hit for the first five innings of the game. After the first two innings, the Blazers were already off to a 4-0 start; and ran away later with four more runs in the final three frames.

The Comets managed five hits over the final four innings and had chances with Belhaven errors, but left eight runners stranded.

The five hits were split across five UTD hitters, with none going for extra bases.