AUSTIN, TX (05.11.18) – The UT Dallas baseball team is the 2018 American Southwest Conference champion after a 12-3 win over host Concordia Texas Friday night in the second game of the ASC's Gold Bracket at Tornado Field.
The Comets (30-15) claimed their first-ever conference title and will be heading to the NCAA Division III National Tournament for just the second time in the program's 17-year history. UTD will learn where and who it will face in the regional round of the national tournament late Sunday night.
One night after senior Jamie Andriot tossed a complete-game in a 9-3 victory for the Comets, it was Comet senior right-hander Ruben Renteria (7-3) that controlled game two. Renteria tossed 7.0 strong innings with eight strikeouts as he gave up just one earned run on five hits and two walks.
The host Tornados (29-16) opened the scoring with a single run in the top of the 3rd, but UTD responded in a big way, plating four runs each in the 3rd, 4th and 5th frames to take control of the game.
Down 1-0 in the bottom of the 3rd, the Comets knotted the game with three straight hits to start their half of the inning, capped by an RBI double by Ryan Burciaga. After a walk drawn by Barry Casey to load the bases, Connor Scruggs gave UTD the lead with a sacrifice fly to left, scoring Josh Covey. Rodney Corbin then got in the action with his seventh triple of the season, bringing home both Casey and Scruggs.
The Comets then loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the 4th before Scruggs and Corbin drew back-to-back walks to push the UTD lead to 6-1. Thomas Craig then capped a second straight four-run inning for the Comets with a single up the middle, plating both Scruggs and Corbin.
Casey then plated a pair of runs with an opposite field double with one out in the 5th, pushing the Comet lead to 10-1 as UTD reached the double-digit run mark for the 16th this season and fourth time in five postseason games this spring. Scruggs then hammered the nail in the coffin with a two-run shot to left center field, his team-leading 7th of the season.
CTX got a single run back in the top of the 7th with back-to-back two-out hits and used a pair of doubles in the bottom of the 9th for the Tornados' final tally.
The Comets were making their sixth-ever appearance in the title round of the ASC Tournament, coming up fruitless in the previous five trips. UTD was one win away from the conference crown in 2003 and 2006.