PINEVILLE, LA (04.17.21) - The UT Dallas baseball team collected a pair of lop-sided wins over league-leading Louisiana College Saturday afternoon as the Comets and Wildcats opened a key American Southwest Conference three-game series. UTD opened the set with an 11-3 win before closing Saturday's twin bill with a 23-2 drubbing of the Wildcats.

After Saturday's pair of victories, the Comets (now 18-8, 14-6 ASC) have won six of seven ASC series this spring and they will look for their second three-game sweep of a league opponent tomorrow when they face the Wildcats (now 20-8, 16-4 ASC) in the series finale at 1 p.m. at Billy Allgood Field.

Jacob Perry was 8-for-10 from the plate with seven runs scored and six RBI as he was one of six different Comets to homer in the doubleheader. The Comets tallied 37 over the 16 innings while matching the longest winning streak of the season.

The Comets currently sit in third place in the ASC behind Louisiana College and East Texas Baptist (15-5), with seven games left in the conference slate. UTD now has series wins over both the Wildcats and Tigers this spring.

GAME 1 - UTD 11, LC 3
Blake Birdwell went the distance on the mound, scattering six hits, as his offense propelled him to an 11-3 victory in Saturday's series opener. The Comets belted 14 hits and got home runs from Ramon Garza and Daniel Zamora as they shocked the ASC-leading Wildcats.

The Comets struck first with an RBI single by A.J. Liu in the top of the 1st before scoring three runs in the 2nd to take an early 4-0 lead. UTD doubled its lead with an RBI double by Perry with two outs in the frame before Garza blasted his four long ball of the spring one batter later.

Leading 4-1 after three, the Comets added two runs each in the 4th and 6th frames before plating three in the top of the 7th to extend their cushion to 10 runs. UTD got an RBI groundout by Garza, followed by a run-scoring Wildcat error in the 4th. Perry pushed across a run on a sacrifice fly in the 6th before the Comets would later add a second run in the inning on a wild pitch. Hunter Cheek added an RBI single up the middle with one out in the 7th before Zamora blasted his team-leading sixth homer of the season later in the frame. The host Wildcats scored twice in the bottom of the 7th.

Birdwell gave up three runs while striking out two as he improved to 3-2 on the spring. Perry was 3-for-4 from the leadoff spot with three runs scored and two RBI while Liu was 3-for-4 with an RBI.

GAME 2 - UTD 23, LC 2
The Comets collected a season-high 23 hits and scored their most runs since opening day they pounded LC, 23-2, in Saturday's late game. 

UTD scored in all but one inning in the lop-sided victory, using six runs in the 6th and nine runs in the 7th to solidify the blowout. Perry, Check, Deylan Moreno and Peter Dyar each had home runs as the Comets hit four homers in a game for the first time this season.

Zac Vorst opened the scoring with an RBI single in the 1st before the Comets added two runs on a single by Garza in the 2nd to take an early 3-0 lead. The Comets got their first long ball of the game in the 3rd, a solo shot by Moreno, and extended their lead to 5-0 in the 4th on a sacrifice fly by Liu.

The Comets gave starter Carter Cochrane (6-0) all the offense he needed early on as he was dominant over the first three innings of the contest before giving up a solo homer in the bottom of the 4th. Cochrane face the minimum nine batters through three hitless frames, erasing a base runner with a double play in the 2nd. The right-hander would toss 7.2 innings for the Comets, giving up just two earned  runs on three hits, striking out seven Wildcats.

Up 5-1 after five, the Comets then exploded for six runs on just four hits in the 6th and nine runs on eight hits in the 7th to silence any rally cries by LC. UTD got a two-run double by Liu to open the scoring in the 6th before back-to-back sacrifice flies by Vorst and Moreno. Cheek then launched his fifth home run of the season, a two-run shot to left center, to push the Comet lead to 11-1.

Six different Comets collected at least one RBI as they sent 14 batters to the plate in the 7th frame. Vorst plated two with a single to center before Moreno, Marcos Villegas, Cheek and Nick Balley each added run-scoring hits. Perry capped the 7th with a three-run blast to left, his second homer of the season.

Perry tacked on an RBI single int he 8th before Dyar finished the 23-run outburst with a two-run shot with one out in the 9th, his third of the year.

Perry was 5-for-6 from the plate with four RBI and four runs scored while Moreno was 3-for-4 with three RBI. Liu closed teh game 2-for-3 with three runs scored and three RBI while Vorst was 2-for-5 with four RBI.