MARSHALL, Texas - The UT Dallas baseball team will begin the quest for its fourth league title when they open the 2024 American Southwest Conference Championship Tournament on Friday at 11 a.m. at Woods Field on the campus of East Texas Baptist.
The #2 seed, the Comets (28-12) won previous championships in 2018, 2021 and 2022. They will take on the winner of #3 Mary Hardin-Baylor and #6 Hardin-Simmons. A win would put UTD directly into the semifinals on Saturday, while a loss would send them to an elimination game at 5 p.m. Friday.
The tournament is scheduled to last through Sunday, May 5 with the finals beginning at 1 p.m. The ASC's automatic qualifier to the NCAA Division III Baseball Championship Tournament is on the line.
The Comets are making their league-record 20th all-time appearance in the tournament, boasting a 52-36 record in their previous 19 trips to the event. UTD also holds the conference record for tournament victories and games played (88).
UTD finished third in the regular season standings at 16-8. They lead the ASC in walks (203), doubles (85), batters hit by a pitch (60), runs (331) and sacrifice flies (31).
Senior right fielder
Luke Finn ranks 24th in the nation with 34 walks, 36th in the runs (49) and 49th in home runs (10). He also leads UTD with 20 stolen bases. Graduate student first baseman
Zach Landry is hitting .379 with 32 RBI. Junior second baseman
Albert Garza is batting .328 with 12 doubles and sophomore catcher comes in with a .324 average and 11 doubles. Senior third baseman
Dylan Bivins leads the team with 42 runs batted in.
Graduate student
Ryan Vera (5-3) is the UTD's career leader in appearances, starts, wins and innings pitched. He has a 3.50 ERA and 60 strikeouts in 64.1 innings. Senior
Dylan Hugley ranks sixth in the nation with eight wins.
The bullpen is led by
Ben Price with three saves and a 1.74 ERA.
Trevor McGrath is 1-0 with a 0.79 ERA and lefty
Caleb Vuono has one save and a 2.81 ERA.
Tournament passes are $25 to general public or $15 for students. Single games are $10.
ASC Championship
