RICHARDSON, Texas - The UT Dallas baseball team played its 1,000th contest in program history Thursday, opening the series with Howard Payne by sweeping a pair of seven-inning games. The Comets (18-1) defeated the Yellow Jackets (6-12) 5-3 and 5-0 at UTD Baseball Field.
UTD, playing in its 24th season, is now 636-365 through 1,001 games. Head coach
Shane Shewmake has been at the helm the entire duration of the program.
Game 1
HPU picked up a run in the top of the first, but UTD tied it up in the second. Center fielder
Austin Wallace led off with a single, moved to second on a
Nico Fernandez base hit, and scored with a double to right center by
Jayden Chatman.
Second baseman
Albert Garza walked to lead off the third and later scored on a sacrifice fly by
Trent McCown to give the Comets a 2-1 advantage. Garza drove in
Kole Kinnison and Chatman with a single to center in the bottom of the fourth.
The Yellow Jackets made the game 4-3 in the fifth with Grant Pfaff plating Braden Franks on base hit. Pfaff scored on a double by first baseman Seth Bowman.
McCown led off the bottom of the fifth with a home run over the left center fence - his eighth of the year.
Dylan Collins (4-0) earned the win on the mound, striking out four and allowing seven hits and three runs over five innings.
Jake Jennings picked up the save with a perfect final two frames.
Bryant Chambers (1-2) took the loss for HPU. He threw 4.1 innings and gave up eight hits, five runs and four walks with one K.
Game 2
Senior
Ben Price (2-0) scattered four hits with just one walk and five strikeouts in the complete game shutout.
Garza led off the first with an infield single and scored on a Fernandez hit to center to give the Comets a 1-0 lead.
The Comets tacked on four more runs on five hits and an error in the fourth, which included a two-run single by shortstop
Thomas Soto.
Lucas Rexin also had an RBI-single in the inning.
HPU starter Kasey Swan (0-1) was tagged with the loss. He gave up five hits, four runs and two walks with two hit batters and a pair of strikeouts over 3.1 frames.
UT Dallas Notes
- Price threw his first career shutout in his longest outing.
- Jennings earned his fourth career save. He has not allowed a run in 10 innings this season.
- Collins leads the Comets with 30 strikeouts.
- McCown blasted his eighth home run of the season.
- Chatman was 3-for-5 on the day with a double and two stolen bases.
- Rexin recorded three hits with a steal, RBI and a walk.
Howard Payne Notes
- Reliever Brenden Read allowed one hit and no runs in the final 1.2 innings of game one.
- Pfaff was 3-for-4 with two runs scored, a RBI and a double.
- Bowman drove in two runs with a double in the opener.
- Jackson Earle was 2-for-3 in game two.
- John Garza had a hit and stole a base in the nightcap.
- Jack Shackelford allowed two hits with a strikeout in two scoreless innings in game two.
Up Next
UTD and HPU will play again on Friday at 2 p.m.
