>>NCAA DIV. III WEST REGIONALS
Comets Get Revenge On TLU, But Fall To Chapman To End Run at Regionals
ORANGE, CA - The UTD baseball team finished up its first ever appearance in the NCAA Division III West Regionals Friday night with a third place finish after a 6-3 win over Texas Lutheran followed by a disappointing 12-2 loss to Chapman University, the tournament's top seed. UTD avenged an earlier loss this season to TLU at the American Southwest Conference tournament by holding off a late Bulldog rally. But four errors, 12 runners left on base and a pitching staff that gave up 16 hits and walked six batters ended UTD's run one game short of the regional championship game. The Comets' season ended with a 34-13 record.

OPENING ROUND

Comets Open Regional With 5-3 Win

UTD, Cox Keep George Fox Off Balance To Move to Winner's Bracket

ORANGE, CA - Making their first NCAA Division III regional appearance in the six-year history of their program, the UTD Comets opened the 2007 West Regional Tournament with a 5-3 win over George Fox University (OR) at Chapman University's Hart Park Thursday.

With the win, the Comets (33-11) advance to the second day of the double-elimination, seven-team tournament with an unblemished record. They will face top-seeded Chapman in a winner's bracket game at 4:30 pm PDT (6:30 pm in Texas) Thursday. Chapman eliminated George Fox with a 3-0 win Wednesday night. In other opening round games, Texas Lutheran rallied in the bottom of the ninth to beat Pamona-Pitzer, 4-3; and Austin College was routed, 12-4 by Pacific Lutheran.

In the Thursday opener, UTD jumped out to an early lead, then answered a game-tying rally by the Bruins (30-10) in the fourth with a three-run rally of their own that gave them the cushion they needed to hold off GFU. Meanwhile, junior Mark Cox (pictured) scattered nine hits and gave up just two runs over eight innings of work to improve to 7-1 on the season. He struck out seven GFU batters. The Comets went up early with Nick Hand doubling as the second UTD hitter of the game, then scoring on a Matt Putman single. The Bruins tied the game up in the fourth when Daniel Downs led off with a double, then scored on a Pat Bailey shot up the middle. UTD, however, answered immediately, sending nine hitters to the plate in the bottom of the inning. With one out, the Comets loaded up the bases on a Jake Jackson single, a hit batter and a walk before Bruin starter Nick Brantley walked Mike Cargile to force in the go-ahead run. Brett Rosen then delivered a two-out single through the left side that scored both Mitch Elliott and Chase Whitehead to give UTD a 4-1 lead. The Comets then added a fifth run in the fifth inning when Jake Jackson got an infield single and went to second on a throwing error. He then scored when Elliott followed with a single. The Bruins cut the lead to 5-2 in the seventh with a two-out rally, then got their final run against reliever Tim Flasik in the ninth. The Comets had opportunities in the final three innings to add to their lead with seven hits, but left all seven runners stranded. For the game, both teams left 12 runners aboard. UTD outhit George Fox, 13-9. BOXSCORE

SECOND ROUND
Comets Give Top-Seed Chapman Scare,
But Face Elimination After 7-6 Loss

UTD Must Win Two Friday To Advance To Regional Championship Game

ORANGE, CA - The UTD baseball team will have to win two games Friday to avoid elimination and advance to the championship games of the NCAA Division III West Regional Tournament after falling 7-6 in a hard-fought winner's bracket game to top-seeded Chapman University Thursday.

UTD battled back from an early 6-3 deficit and had the potential game-tying and winning runs on base in the final two innings, but failed to bring them home. UTD fell in a hole early against the nation's No. 2 team, giving up two runs in the top of the first. But the Comets (33-12) answered immediately when Brett Rosen opened the game with a double and scored on a Trent Elizondo single. Elizondo also scored on a groundout to knot the game at 2-2 after one. Elizondo, who had been in a hitless slump, drove in three runs with a pair of hits Thursday.

The Comets actually took a short-lived lead in the second, scoring an unlikely run. Nick Bird, who had missed the last two weeks of playoff games with a broken bone in his foot, returned to the lineup and legged out a double to open the inning. He then scored on a Matt Kelly groundout to give the Comets a 3-2 lead. It did not last long, though, as Chapman opened the game up with a disastrous third inning for the Comets. With one out, Ryan Cavan reached on an error, then Tyler Dean and Stuart Hyman followed wiht back-to-back home runs off starter Drew Waggoner. Before the inning ended, nine Panther batters had come to the plate and four had scored to give Chapman a 6-3 lead. UTD got two back to make it a one-run game in the fifth when Chase Whitehead and Kelly opened the inning with singles and scored on a two-out single by Elizondo.

The Comets touched Chapman's highly-touted starter Wayde Kitchens for 11 hits and knocked him out of the game in the eighth with just one strikeout to add to his season total of 100 through 92.1 innings. But reliever Kurt Yacko made life miserable for UTD when he came in pick up his ninth save of the year. The Panthers had stretched their lead out to 7-5 in the seventh. Yacko entered the game with a runner aboard in the eighth, and gave up a leadoff double to Mitch Elliott to pull the Comets to within one. But with Elliott at second and no outs, Yacko shut the Comets down with a ground out and two consecutive strikeouts. After another groundout to open the ninth, UTD got Nick Hand aboard with a single, representing the tying run. Matt Putman then slashed a shot up the middle to put the winning run on base with two outs, but Yacko got Jake Jackson with a game-ending strikeout to preserve the win. BOXSCORE

QUARTERFINALS/SEMIFINALS

Comets Avenge Loss to TLU, But Can't Get Past Chapman at NCAA West Regionals

UTD Eliminates Bulldogs With 6-3 Win, But Can't Keep Up w/Chapman

ORANGE, CA - The UTD baseball team finished up its first ever appearance in the NCAA Division III West Regionals Friday night with a third place finish after a 6-3 win over Texas Lutheran followed by a disappointing 12-2 loss to Chapman University, the tournament's top seed and second-ranked team in the country. UTD made it four games deep into the regional tournament in their first visit, holding off a late rally by TLU, but then falling apart in all facets of the game in the nightcap against Chapman. Chapman (38-6), which lost a game to Pacific Lutheran earlier in the day Friday, faced PLU for the regional title Sunday and won the required two games to advance to the College World Series.

Matt Putman finished the four-game stay at the tournament with a 9-for-16 showing at the plate. UTD pitcher Mark Cox had a win and a save for the Comets in their two wins. Putman and 1B Nick Bird were selected for the All-Tournament Team.

QUARTERFINALS: UTD 6, TEXAS LUTHERAN 3 (Boxscore)
The Comets faced a rematch with American Southwest Conference champion Texas Lutheran in the first elimination game Friday, and put together a nice 6-3 win. UTD jumped out to a 5-0 advantage, but had to deal with a late rally by TLU, a team that had battled back from early deficits in every tournament game it had played to that point. UTD had lost a 1-0 heartbreaker to TLU at the ASC Championship Tournament earlier in the month.

The Comets got a surprisingly effective pitching performance from starter Damion Chelakis, who had not thrown for the Comets in nearly a month. Chelakis kept the Bulldogs off balance the entire game with an assortment of off-speed breaking pitches. He allowed just three hits in 7.2 innings while UTD built up its early lead. The Comets got their first run when Chase Whitehead doubled in the third and then scored on an errant throw from the TLU third baseman on an attempted double-play ball. In the fourth, Putman led off the inning with a double and Mitch Elliott walked before Nick Bird brought them both home with a single through the left side. Brett Rosen stretched the UTD advantage to 4-0 when he led off the fifth with a solo home run, then the Comets made it 5-0 by executing a perfect double steal with Mitch Elliott and Whitehead in the sixth.

But TLU, as they had done every game in the tournament, rallied in the late innings. The Bulldogs got to Chelakis in the eighth, using four hits, a walk and a fielding error to start a three-run rally that could have been worse. TLU still had the bases loaded with two outs when Matt Moore sent a shot toward the hole between first and second that UTD's Brett Rosen dove and caught on a line, avoiding any further damage. The Comets added an insurance run in the ninth on back-to-back singles by Whitehead and Matt Kelly; then Mark Cox came in and shut down TLU in the ninth to pick up the save.

SEMIFINALS: CHAPMAN 12, UTD 2 (Boxscore)
Just an hour after the emotional win over TLU, the Comets tried to put together the same kind of efficient attack against the tournament's top seed in the final elmination game. Unfortunately, UTD came up short in almost every category. The Comets hit the ball and were given several free baserunners via walks and hit batters early as Chapman starter Matt Luzar struggled. But the Comets failed to capitalize. Only two of 12 UTD baserunners in the game's first four innings were able to score; and none of those came in on an RBI base hit.

Meanwhile, the pitching and defense let down their guard and Chapman jumped ahead with a five-run second inning that included 4 hits and two UTD errors - the second opening the door for the final four runs of the inning. Without the error, the Comets should have been down only 1-0 and could have taken a lead in the third when they loaded up the bases with three straight singles. Nick Hand was forced home when Jake Jackson got hit by a pitch, then Trent Elizondo got a free pass to the plate after Mitch Elliott worked a walk. But with the bases loaded and still no one out, probably the biggest missed opportunity of the game took place when power-hitting Nick Bird got the green light on a 3-1 pitch and nubbed a soft grounder right back to the pitcher. Luzar was able to force Putman at the plate for the first out of the inning, then got a strikeout and ground ball to end the UTD threat with only two runs home. The Comets then missed another opportunity to make it close in the top of the fourth by loading the bases again, but failed to get a key hit to bring home a run. The bottom of the fourth is when things went from from bad to worse for UTD. Three Chapman hits and two UTD errors opened the door for four more Chapman runs and the home team never had to look back. The Panthers then added another three runs in the fifth and sixth while the Comet bats suddenly went silent. UTD had just one hit over the final four frames of the game as reality set in.

The second tournament loss ended the UTD careers of 11 seniors, including many in the starting position player lineup. The Comets' season finished up with a 34-13 overall record.

NCAA DIVISION III ALL-AMERICA TEAM
Two Comets Earn All-American Honors
mug mug RICHARDSON, TX - Infielders Brett Rosen and Jake Jackson (pictured at right) have been named second-team honorees on the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) national NCAA Division III All-American Team.

Rosen was also selected as the NCAA Divisoin III West Region Player of the Year, leading a group of five Comets on the regional squad. Rosen and Jackson were both first-team regional selections while catcher Matt Putman and outfielder Mitch Elliott were second-team regional selections. Outfielder Trent Elizondo was a third-team selection. Putman was also selected for a West Region Gold Glove at his position, after commiting just two errors all season.

All five players were seniors on UTD's 2007 squad, which finished 34-13 and advanced to the semi-finals of the NCAA West Regional Tournament. Rosen, a senior from Plano, hit .424 for the 2007 Comets and set 11 UTD school records during his career. Jackson, a senior from Santo, led the Comets with a record-setting .451 season batting average and also found his way into the UTD record book with three new school records. Putman finished the season hitting .402 with 10 home runs. Elliott hit .384 with 10 home runs and Elizondo finished the season at .419.

>>2007 ALL-ASC EAST DIVISION TEAMS
Elizondo Is East Division Player of Year Again;
Comets Dominate All-East Division Squad

RICHARDSON, TX - Senior outfielder/designated hitter Trent Elizondo has been selected as the 2007 American Southwest Conference East Division Player of the Year as part of the ASC All-Division teams announced earlier this week.

Elizondo, a three-year starter for the Comets and winner of the same award after the 2005 season, was one of 13 members of the UTD baseball team honored on the post-season squads. Five UTD players, including Elizondo, were first-team All-East Division selections. Elizondo, a senior from The Woodlands who transferred to UTD in 2005 after a year at Weatherford Junior College, hit .446 this season with 39 runs batted in while appearing in all 40 Comet games. He was named to the ASC East first team as a designated hitter, and to the second team as an outfielder.

In addition to Elizondo, four seniors were also named to the first team All-ASC East Division squad. They were second baseman Brett Rosen of Plano (.419, 23 extra-base hits), shortstop Jake Jackson of Santo (.451, 52 RBI), catcher Matt Putman of Carrollton (.408, 10 HR), and outfielder Mitch Elliott of Euless (.399, 10 HR). Second team selections for the Comets were Elizondo as an outfielder, sophomore outfielder Jake Eisman of Highland Village, and sophomore pitchers Tim Flasik and Jay Johnson, both of Missouri City. Winning honorable mention recognition were senior first baseman Nick Bird of Richardson, senior outfielder Nick Hand of Midland, and junior starting pitchers Mark Cox of Coldspring, Damion Chelakis of Houston and Drew Waggoner of Dallas.

SEASON HIGHLIGHTS

>>05.14.07
UTD WINS AT-LARGE BID TO REGIONALS
ORANGE, CA - National rankings, a 32-11 overall record and a tougher season schedule have earned
The University of Texas at Dallas baseball team its first ever berth into the NCAA Division III national tournament. The Comets will travel to Orange, Calif., on Tuesday to open play Wednesday in a seven-team, double-elimination tournament, hosted by Chapman University. The Comets will face George Fox University (30-9) of Newberg, Oregon in the tournament's opening game at 9:30 am Pacific Daylight Time (11:30 am locally).

UT Dallas will be joined at the tournament by a pair of familiar foes - Texas Lutheran University (35-8), the team that won the recent American Southwest Conference Championship Tournament, edging the Comets, 1-0, along the way; and former ASC member Austin College (22-23), a team that UTD defeated three times during the season, but surprisingly snuck up and won the Southern Collegiate Athletic Confernce's (SCAC) championship and automatic bid last week.

Despite the ASC Tournament losses, UTD was still ranked No. 28 nationally and fourth in the West Region, which includes schools from Texas, California, Oregon and Washington. Texas Lutheran is the nation's No. 9 ranked team. The three Texas schools will join four West Coast teams in the field, including the host Chapman University team, which is 35-5 and ranked No. 2 nationally. In addition to George Fox, the tournament will also include Pacific Lutheran University of Tacoma, Washington (32-7, ranked No. 15) and Pamona-Pitzer of Claremont, CA (29-11, ranked No. 21).

A win in the opening game would allow the Comets to avoid Chapman early in the tournament. The loser of that first game faces Chapman at 8 pm PDT (10 pm locally) Wednesday night. If the Comets win the opener, they will play again at 4:30 pm PDT Thursday (6:30 pm locally). UTD will take one of the nation's most potent offenses into the tournament. The Comets have the nation's second-best team batting average (.364) and are scoring 9.3 runs per game (9th nationally). The Comets have hit 49 home runs and have a team slugging percentage of .542, both ranking them nationally in NCAA Division III statistics.

Though the Comets' pitching has not kept up with the offense (UTD has a team ERA of 5.02), several individual pitchers have shown steady improvement throughout the season and have put together some impressive recent starts. Junior Mark Cox is 6-1 with a 4.45 ERA and is fifth nationally with 91 strikeouts in 14 appearances. Junior Drew Waggoner (6-2, 4.22 ERA), who threw a one-hitter earlier this season, gave up just six hits in the 1-0 loss to TLU last weekend.

ASC CHAMPIONSHIP TOURNAMENT
Emotional Semifinal Loss Takes Air Out Of Comets

RICHARDSON, TX - The UTD baseball team was eliminated from the American Southwest Conference Championship Tournament in a loser's bracket final against McMurry Sunday; but it was the Comets' heartbreaking 1-0 loss to defending ASC champ Texas Lutheran that ended the Comets' hopes. The pitching-thin UTD team, which entered the tournament with a 31-9 record and a No. 21 national ranking, couldn't stop the McMurry offense in the final elimination round, and eventually saw their tournament run end with a 14-4 "run rule" loss after eight innings.

UTD had three players named to the All-Tournament team. They were pitcher Drew Waggoner, 2B Brett Rosen and SS Jake Jackson. UTD, now 32-11 after the tournament, still has an outside shot of an invitation to the NCAA Division III Regional Tournament, but will have to wait several days to find out. The winner of the ASC Tournament will receive an automatic bid.

UTD 4, McMURRY 3 (Opening Game) (BOXSCORE)

Matt Kelly's slow roller that was mishandled by McMurry shortstop Evan Reece in the 10th inning allowed Mike Cargile to score the winning run for the UTD Comets in a 4-3 extra-inning victory in the opening game of the tournament Saturday. UTD starter Mark Cox held McMurry at bay until the seventh inning when the first McMurry hit was a Weston Franco home run that cut the Comets lead to 2-1. UTD had a 13-hit attack, but had only scored on solo home runs from Kelly and Jake Jackson in the second and third innings. After McMurry had tied the game at 2-2 in the eighth, Mitch Elliot gave UTD another brief lead after doubling with two outs, stealing third, then scoring on a Cargile single; but McMurry got the run back in the top of the ninth with a two-out rally.

The Comets had the potential game winner in scoring position in the ninth after Brett Rosen walked to open the inning and advanced to second on a balk. But a failed bunt attempt hung Rosen out to dry going to third and UTD was unable to score. In the 10th, UTD reliever Jay Johnson shut down three quick McMurry batters before Cargile set the stage for the game-winning run with a walk. He advanced to second on a ground out, took third on a wild pitch and scored when Kelly's slow roller to Reece bounced out of his glove as he tried to rush to beat Kelly at first.

TEXAS LUTHERAN 1, UTD 0 (Semifinals) (BOXSCORE)

The team that relied on its offense all season long again got a stellar pitching performance as Drew Waggoner gave up just six hits in a complete-game performance; but it was the Comet hitters that couldn't figure out TLU starter Daniel Besa - at least not a crunch time. UTD had seven hits in the game, but only one after the sixth inning. The Comets got runners in scoring position three times in a 0-0 ballgame, but went 0-for-6 in that situation. Meanwhile, Besa was striking out eight Comets before his teammates finally figured out a way to solve Waggoner when the Bulldogs came up with a pair of doubles in the ninth inning to win the game. The Comets also came up with several spectacular defensive plays to keep the score at 0-0 earlier, including a runner thrown out at the plate by centerfielder Mitch Elliott in the third, and a diving line drive catch by 2B Brett Rosen that probably prevented a run from scoring in the fourth.

McMURRY 14, UTD 4 (Elimination Game) (BOXSCORE)

Forty-five minutes after emotional semifinal loss, the Comets had a rematch with McMurry, but it took UTD way too long to turn their attention to the game at hand. McMurry jumped on the Comets first two pitchers of the game for eight runs in the first four innings and were well on their way to a 14-4 "run rule" victory. The Comets held off the inevitable a little by getting 10 of their 12 hits in the game in the final four innings. UTD manufactured its first run in the fifth on a sacrifice fly RBI by Trent Elizondo. Then in the sixth, UTD chased McMurry starter Chad Curry with three hits. After a pitching change, Brett Rosen's 2-RBI double capped a three-run inning. The Comets threatened again in the seventh when Jake Jackson (pictured), who had had UTD's only hits through the first four innings, singled and made it to third before the inning ended. McMurry put the finishing touches on the "run rule" with a three-run eighth, scoring the winning run with just one out. Shortstop Jake Jackson, who had UTD's only two hits through the first four innings, finished

ASC OPENING ROUND PLAYOFF SERIES
UTD ADVANCES, WILL HOST ASC TOURNEY

The UTD baseball team (31-9) will host the American Southwest Conference Championship Baseball Tournament May 4-6 after holding off Hardin-Simmons University with 4-0 and 9-7 victories in the best-of-three opening round playoff series. The Comets got the series win by stopping HSU (25-17) cold behind the four-hit pitching of junior Mark Cox on Friday, then continually answering Cowboy rallies in the Saturday opener with a 15-hit assault.

UTD will now meet McMurry University (27-15), which took its opening series from Louisiana College in two games, in a quarterfinal round game Friday at 3 pm on the Comets' home field. The ASC Tournament is a double-elimination format featuring the four victories teams from this weekend's opening series.

GAME 1: UTD 4, HSU 0 (BOXSCORE)

Cox threw his second consecutive complete game shutout in the series opener Friday, scattering six hits while striking out six others. He allowed just one extra base hit and only three runners to reach second base. Meanwhile, the Comets loaded the bases three times, but hit into three double plays during the game. UTD wasted a bases loaded opportunity in the first and a couple of other scoring opportunities in the game, hitting into three double plays. But the Comets got the only runs they would need in the fourth on four straight singles. Mitch Elliott's drive to right center scored Matt Putman and Nick Bird. Bird, however, injured his foot on the play and was lost for the season.

The UTD players played Saturday's game with Bird's initials and number on the bill of their caps.

The Comets got an insurance run in the fifth when Mike Cargile, Bird's replacement, drove an RBI single to right field, then added another one in the sixth. Elliott opened the inning with a single, stole second and went to third on an errant throw from the HSU catcher. He scored on a sacrfice fly from Jake Eisman. After giving up three hits to the Cowboys in the first two innings, Cox shut down HSU completely from the third through sixth inning, then gave up just a single hit in each of the last three innings. It was Cox's second straight complete game shutout. He threw a three-hitter against LeTourneau in his last regular-season start.

GAME 2: UTD 9, HSU 7 (BOXSCORE)

UTD took an early lead in the Saturday game, but never got the chance to breath easy until the end as the Cowboys continually threatened to battle back against three Comet pitchers. HSU cut a 7-2 Comet lead down to 7-6 with a four-run sixth inning, then had the go-ahead runs on base in the eighth with just one out before the Comets got out of that jam.

Trent Elizondo (pictured, above left) delivered the eventual deciding hit in the eighth with a two-run home run that stretched the lead back out to 9-6. Mitch Elliott (pictured, above right), who had helped manufacture a run earlier in the game with a single and two stolen bases, then saved the Comets from HSU's final rally attempt with a diving catch of a ninth-inning line drive to help end the threat.

The Comets got a run in the first when Brett Rosen reached on a third strike wild pitch to start the game, went to second on another wild pitch and scored on Jake Jackson's single up the middle. HSU, however, went ahead for the first time in the series, 2-1, in the third with three straight two-out hits. The Comets answered immediately in the fourth on Elliott's manufactured run, then took the lead for good in the fifth when Rosen, Jackson and Matt Putman singled to make it 3-2. UTD chased HSU starter Dalton Rucker with three runs in the sixth before the Comet defense let the Cowboys back in the game. An error, a walk and four hits led the way to four HSU runs, cutting the lead down to 7-6. Down 9-6 in the eighth, the Cowboys threatened again, loading the bases on a walk and two UTD errors; but Cargile then made a crucial defensive play - spearing a line drive that would have gone for extra bases and probably have tied the game.

>>04.24.07
COMET SHORTSTOP ASC EAST HITTER OF THE WEEK
After a weekend when he was virtually unstoppable at the plate, UTD shortstop Jake Jackson has been selected as the American Southwest Conference East Division Hitter of the Week. Jackson, a senior from Santo, had 11 hits in 13 plate appearances, driving in five runs during UTD's three-game sweep of LeTourneau. Jackson drove in the game-winning run in a 3-2 victory Saturday during the only close game of the series, and stopped several LETU rallies with stellar defensive play in the field. Jackson is UTD's fifth East Division Player of the Week selection this season. Infield teammate Brett Rosen has been selected twice as Hitter of the Week, while pitchers Drew Waggoner and Damion Chelakis have won the Pitcher of the Week honors.

>>04.24.07
COMETS MOVE UP IN NCAA DIVISION III NATIONAL POLL
For the second time this season, the University of Texas at Dallas baseball team is back in the Top 30 national American Baseball Coaches Association/Collegiate Baseball Division III poll. The Comets, who finished their regular season with a 29-9 record and are preparing for the American Southwest Conference Championship Playoffs this weekend, are ranked No. 21 in this week's national poll. UTD is one of only two Texas teams in the national poll. ASC West Division champion Texas Lutheran (30-7-1) is ranked No. 8.

UTD cracked the national poll for only the second time in program history back on March 26, placing No. 29. But after a series loss to then-undefeated Texas-Tyler, UTD was knocked out of the April 9 poll.

In the West Region, which includes teams from Texas and California, UTD is ranked fourth with TLU holding down the No. 2 spot. Chapman (30-5) of California is the top-ranked team regionally and is No. 2 nationally. Wooster (Ohio) is the top-ranked team with a 33-1 record. The national ranking is the first for the Comets since they were ranked nationally in 2004, when UTD was 31-3 midway through the season.

>>04.21.07
UTD TO HOST HSU IN OPENING SERIES OF ASC CHAMPIONSHIP PLAYOFFS

The University of Texas at Dallas baseball team will face a familiar foe in the opening round of the American Southwest Conference Baseball Championship playoffs next weekend. The Comets, who finished the regular season at 29-9 and the East Division's top seed at 12-4, will host Hardin-Simmons University, the No. 4 seed out of the ASC West. HSU won its final 12 divisional games to end up 13-7 in the ASC West, 25-15 overall. The two teams will meet in a single game on Friday, April 27, starting at 2 pm, then square off again at 11 am Saturday. A third and deciding game will follow Saturday afternoon if necessary. All tournament games are nine-inning affairs

The series will be a rematch from the 2005 season, when UTD had to travel to HSU for the opening round and lost in three games. Last season, both teams advanced out of the first round and met in an elimination game at the Championship Tournament in Seguin. UTD won that matchup, 5-2, and advanced to the ASC title game before falling. Earlier this season, the Comets swept a three-game home series from the Cowboys, 16-4, 7-3 and 11-10. UTD enters the tournament on a six-game win streak and has outscored its opposition, 79-16, over that span. The series promises to be high on offense as the Comets are hitting .369 as a team with four players hitting over .400. HSU has a .349 team batting average. The team ERA's for the two team pitching staffs are 5.18 for UTD and 7.19 for HSU. The Cowboys have swept through their last 12 ASC West games, though all 12 were against the bottom four teams in the final West Division standings.

The winner of the opening round series advances to a four-team ASC Championship Tournament on the weekend of May 4-5-6. If UTD wins the series with HSU, the Comets would host that tournament. The winner of that tournament earns an automatic bid into the national NCAA Division III championship tournament.

>>04.21.07
COMETS DOMINATE LETU IN FINAL REGULAR SEASON SERIES

RICHARDSON, TX - The UTD baseball team (29-9, 14-4), which clinced a playoff spot two weeks ago and the home field advantage last weekend, used its final American Southwest Conference regular season weekend series to tune up in all phases of the game, sweeping all three games from LeTourneau (10-27, 3-15). UTD overpowered the Yellowjackets with 43 hits, and outscored LETU, 29-2, in taking a 12-0, 3-2 and 14-0 win. The Comets will now host an opening-round series in the American Southwest Conference Championship playoffs next weekend (April 27-28) against the West Division's No. 4 seed. Shortstop Jake Jackson, one of 11 seniors who as recognized before the Saturday doubleheader, had a spectacular series, going 11-for-13 at the plate with 5 runs batted in with a pair of doubles. Mark Cox also put together a solid performance in the opening 12-0 win, throwing a three-hit, complete game shutout.

GAME 1: UTD 12, LETU 0 (BOXSCORE)

Cox struck out nine hitters in a nine-inning game that lasted just over two hours in the series opener. LETU broke up a perfect game in the sixth when Cox walked the first two hitters, then gave up his first hit of the game on a ball hit up the middle that he got a glove on, deflecting the ball from a probable ground out. A leadoff double in the seventh was also wiped out when Jackson nabbed the lead runner at third base for the first out of the inning, then started a 6-4-3 double play that ended the threat. Meanwhile, the Comets got all the runs they would need with a three-run second inning, then put nine runs on the board over the final five innings as Jackson finished the day 5-for-5.

GAME 2: UTD 3, LETU 2 (BOXSCORE)

The Yellowjackets put a scare into the Comets when three hits gave LETU a 2-1 lead after three innings in the Saturday opener. But the Comets tied the game back up and made a winner out of Adam Spinn in the fourth when Jayson Garcia singled home Nick Bird , then got the game winner in the bottom of the seventh. Mitch Elliott drew a walk to open the inning, then scored on an RBI double by Jackson down the left field line.

GAME 3: UTD 14, LETU 0 (BOXSCORE)

Running low on pitching, LETU had all of the Comet bats it could stand just seven innings in to the series finale. UTD had its first run just two batters into the game as Trent Elizondo doubled home Brett Rosen. A Matt Putman single and doubles from Elliott and Nick Hand brough home four more runs. UTD added four more in the third with a two-hit, two-error inning, then five more in the fifth and sixth to make a winner out of Drew Waggoner, who allowed just three hits and struck out six in six innings of work.

>>04.16.07
ROSEN WINS SECOND ASC WEEKLY AWARD

UTD senior second basemand Brett Rosen has been named the American Southwest Conference East Division Hitter of the Week award for the second time this season. Rosen, a senior from Plano, homered three times in UTD's doubleheader sweep of Austin College Saturday, completing a 7-for-13 week. UTD won all three games to improve to 26-9. Rosen, who won the same award earlier this season and once during the 2006 season, drove in 11 runs and scored six himself.

>>04.14.07
UTD POUNDS AUSTIN COLLEGE IN NON-CONFERENCE DH
The UTD baseball team took the week off from American Southwest Conference East Division play, sweeping a non-conference doubleheader against former conference foe Austin College, 18-4 and 21-5. But the best news came later in the day when the Comets (26-9) learned that Louisiana College, which was its nearest challenger in the chase for the ASC East Division's top seed at the conference's post-season playoff tournament, had lost a pair of games (6-0 and 4-2) at the University of the Ozarks. The losses clinched UTD's position as the East Division's top seed in the playoffs, which begin on April 27-28. If the Comets can get past the first round of that tournament, they would host the Conference Championship Tournament on May 4-5-6.

UTD pounded out 35 hits in the doubleheader sweep of the Kangaroos (17-19) and nailed five home runs, including three from senior Brett Rosen (pictured). Senior Nick Bird also had a home run in each game. Senior Matt Putman, who caught both games, was 7-for-10 for the afternoon with pair of doubles. The Comets broke open a 2-2 in the seven-inning first game with three runs in the third inning, then put the game out of reach with an 8-run fifth. Mark Cox picked up the win, allowing just two earned runs in six innings of work, striking out five. Kosuke Fujii returned to the mound to post a shutdown seventh inning.

UTD continued its assault on seven Austin College pitchers in the nine-inning second game. The Comets were up 14-0 before the Kangaroos finally got on the scoreboard in the fifth. Both coaches took advantage of the blowout to empty their benches as UTD had 15 players get at-bats. Starter Jay Johnson picked up his fifth win with a five-inning, four-hit performance as he recorded seven strikeouts. UTD finishes up its regular season next weekend when it hosts LeTourneau, then will open the ASC Championship Tournament on April 27-28 with a best-of-three series at home against the ASC West Division's No. 4 seed. BOXSCORE: Game 1 | Game 2

>>04.11.07
COMETS BOUNCE BACK TO AVENGE EARLIER LOSS TO TEXAS WESLEYAN
UTD hands nationally-ranked Rams just their sixth loss of season. BOXSCORE

>>04.06.07
UNDEFEATED PATRIOTS SWEEP UTD IN FIRST SERIES LOSS

RICHARDSON, TX - The UTD baseball team found out this weekend just how good the undefeated UT-Tyler Patriots are. UT-Tyler swept a three-game American Southwest Conference East Division series from the Comets by excelling in all three phases of the game. The Comets fell to 23-9 and 11-4 in conference by being out-hit, out-pitched and out-performed in 6-0, 9-5 and 11-8 losses. For the series, the Patriots pounded UTD pitching for 36 hits in the three-game series while their pitching staff cooled off the red-hot UTD lineup, which settled for a weekend hitting .225 (21-for-93) – roughly 150 points below their season average.

In addition, the Comets committed nine errors over the three-game set, leading to six unearned runs, including four in the second game that could have turned the tide. Key hits were also hard to come by as UTD's batters were just 6-for-21 with runners in scoring position. The series sweep probably wrapped up the ASC East Division title for UT-Tyler, but that's all the Patriots will get for their efforts. Despite a perfect record, UT-Tyler is still a "provisional" NCAA member and therefore, ineligible for post-season play. UTD still has the inside track on the ASC East Division's top seed at the conference's annual Championship Tournament later this month.

GAME 1: UTT 6, UTD 0 (BOXSCORE)

The Patriots handed the Comets their first shutout loss of the season Thursday, knocking out 12 hits against three UTD pitchers. The game began as a pitcher's dual between the Patriots' Ryan Campbell and UTD's Mark Cox, but Cox could only hold the potent Tyler offense at bay so long as the Patriots put five runs on the board in the fifth and sixth inning.

GAME 2: UTT 9, UTD 5 (BOXSCORE)

In the opening game of Friday's doubleheader, the Comets finally showed some spark, rallying from a 3-0 hole to take a 5-3 lead after three innings. Jake Jackson's three-run home run highlighted a five-run rally in the third. But Tyler wasted no time answering the threat, putting four runs back on the board in the fourth and adding single runs in the sixth and seventh innings of the seven-inning game.

GAME 3: UTT 11, UTD 8 (BOXSCORE)

The Comets did get their offense moving in the series' finale, but not before falling too far behind for it to make much difference. Tyler was up 11-2 after batting in the seventh inning, but UTD rallied to score six times in the final three frames to make it close. UTD had five extra-base hits in the game, including triples from Mitch Elliott and Jake Eisman.

>>04.03.07
COMETS OVERPOWER HOWARD PAYNE, 16-2
BOXSCORE

>>04.03.07
CHELAKIS NAMED ASC PITCHER OF THE WEEK

Damion Chelakis, junior lefthanded pitcher from Houston, has been selected as the American Southwest Conference East Division Pitcher of the Week after tossing a three-hit, 4-3 complete-game victory over Mississippi College. Chelakis struck out eight batters over his seven innings of work in garnering his second complete-game victory of the season. Ironically, two of the three hits Chelakis surrendered were home runs.

>>-03.31.07
UTD TAKES SERIES FROM MISSISSIPPI COLLEGE DESPITE FIRST ASC LOSS

CLINTON, MS - The UTD baseball team suffered its first American Southwest Conference East Division loss of the season at the hands of the Mississippi College Choctaws, but took its fourth straight divisional sering, winning two of three. UTD dropped the series opener Friday night when Mississippi College (11-8, 3-9) rallied for two runs in the bottom of the night to claim a 7-6 win. The 29th-ranked Comets, however, improved to 21-6 overall and 11-1 in conference by taking both ends of the Saturday doubleheader, 5-4 and 15-13. The wins put UTD in command of the ASC East Division race for the top divisional seed in the post-season ASC Championship Tournament with just six conference games left. The Comets' nearest challengers (Louisiana College and University of the Ozarks) are more than five games back in the win column, though both teams have nine conference games left.

MISSISSIPPI COL. 7, UTD 6 (BOXSCORE)

The Comets blew a 6-5 ninth inning lead to suffer their first loss of the season Friday night. Jay Johnson, who had gotten through the eighth inning unscathed, gave up a leadoff home run in the ninth that tied the game, then walked the runner who eventually score the deciding run. UTD had 17 hits in the game, but left 13 runners on base.

UTD 5, MC 4 (BOXSCORE)

Damion Chelakis shut down the high-powered Choctaw offense in the seven-inning opener Saturday, giving up just three hits in his complete game, 5-4 victory. The problem was that two of those hits were Choctaw homers that kept MC in the game. MC struck early, but UTD tied the game at 2-2 in the third. The Choctaws again went up 4-3 in the fourth, but the Comets got single runs on the board in the fiffh and sixth to claim the win.

UTD 15, MC 13 (BOXSCORE)

The Comets returned to their offensive form in the series finale, pounding out 18 hits and holding off a late MC rally to claim the series in the rubber match. UTD was down, 7-6, in the seventh, but the Comets erupted for seven runs with a six-hit inning to go up big. MC did rally for a four-run ninth inning, but still came up two runs short. Both Brett Rosen and Trent Elizondo had four-hit games and combined for seven RBI.

>>03.28.07
COMETS SHUT OUT PAUL QUINN
UTD takes advantage of big inning to get 20th win. BOXSCORE

>>03.27.07
ROSEN NAMED CONFERENCE HITTER OF THE WEEK

UTD senior second baseman Brett Rosen has been selected as the American Southwest Conference East Division Player of the Week after a 12-for-21 week at the plate that included six extra-base hits.

Rosen, a senior from Plano High School, batted .572, but had a slugging percentage of .857 with four doubles and two home runs as UTD won five straight games last week and improved to 19-5 overall and 9-0 in the ASC East Division. Rosen also scored 10 runs and had a stolen base. He did not strike out in 21 at-bats.

>>03.27.07
COMETS CRACK INTO NATIONAL TOP 30 RaNKINGS

For only the second time in program history, the University of Texas at Dallas baseball team has been ranked nationally in the American Baseball Coaches Association/Collegiate Baseball Division III poll. The Comets, who were 19-5 overall and undefeated in American Southwest Conference action through last weekend, were ranked 29th in the March 26 poll, which includes the Top 30 teams nationally. UTD was selected fifth in the West Region rankings. It is the first time the Comets have been ranked nationally since 2004, when UTD was 31-3 midway through the season. UTD is one of only two Texas teams in the national poll. Defending ASC champion Texas Lutheran (20-4-1) is ranked 12th nationally and third in the West Region poll. Undefeated Wooster College of Ohio was the top-ranked team.

>>03.24.07

UTD OVERRUNS OZARKS TO STAY PERFECT

CLARKSVILLE, AR. - The University of Texas at Dallas baseball team kept its American Southwest Conference East Division record unblemished by overpowering the University of the Ozarks in a three-game weekend divisional series. UTD (19-5, 9-0) took the Friday opener, 9-5; then held off Ozarks twice on Saturday, winning 10-6 and 16-13. The sweep gave the Comets seven straight wins and victories in 10 of their last 11 games. Brett Rosen led a Comet attack that banged out 48 hits, with an 8-for-15 (.533) performance that included two home runs and three doubles. UTD had 16 extra-base hits over the weekend, including 10 home runs. In the Saturday doubleheader, the top four hitters in the order - Rosen, Trent Elizondo, Mitch Elliott and Jake Jackson - went a combined 23-for-40 with nine of the homers as the Comets raised their team batting average to .373. UTD is now averaging over nine 9.1 runs per game. Ozarks fell to 14-11, 3-3 after entering the series without a conference loss.

GAME 1: UTD 9, OZARKS 5 (BOXSCORE)

The Comets jumped out to an early 8-1 lead in the series opener, then held off a late Eagles rally to hand Ozarks its first conference loss of the season. The Comets took advantage of an 11-hit attack and three Ozarks errors, which led to four unearned runs. Doubles by Nick Bird and Nick Hand put UTD on top, 2-0, in the second inning and UT held a 3-1 lead after five. The Comets then busted the game open with a five-run seventh, highlighted by Jake Eisman's second hit of the game - a three-run homer. Ozarks then rallied for three in the bottom of the inning, but Tim Flasik came into close the door, allowing just a single run in the final 2.1 innings.

GAME 2: UTD 10, OZARKS 6 (BOXSCORE)

UTD put this tight game away with a seven-run outburst in the fourth and fifth inning to give Damion Chelakis his sixth win of the season. Both Jackson and Rosen delivered three-run shots in those two innings, with all the scoring occuring with two outs. Overall, the Comets had 17 hits and had three double plays in the seven-inning game to quash Ozarks rallies.

GAME 3: UTD 16, OZARKS 13 (BOXSCORE)

The Comets actually trailed for the first time in the series, down 3-2 after two, but were up 6-4 before another offensive eruption turned the game into a shootout. UTD put together a nine-run eighth behind an eight-hit attack that included a grand slam home run from Matt Putman, his second homer of the game. The Eagles then rallied for nine runs in the final two frames, scoring five in the eighth after an error opened the door for a grand slam home run, then four more in the ninth following another error. Drew Waggoner took the win, allowing just four runs in the first seven innings.

>>03.20.07
COMETS POUND OUT 21 HITS IN WIN OVER 'ROOS
UTD takes 12-8 midweek win over Austin College. BOXSCORE

>>03.19.07
WAGGONER WINS PITCHER OF WEEK AWARD

UTD pitcher Drew Waggoner has been selected as the co-winner of the American Southwest Conference East Division Pitcher of the Week award after throwing his second consecutive complete game shutout over the weekend - a 1-0 one-hitter against Louisiana College. Waggoner, a junior from Dallas Hillcrest HS, struck out six batters and did not issue a walk over the nine-inning, 1-0 win. In his previous start, he was the beneficiary of a 20-0 win against East Texas Baptist that was ended after seven innings.

>>03.17.07
COMETS STILL PERFECT IN CONFERENCE WITH SWEEP OF LOUISIANA COLLEGE

RICHARDSON, TX - The UTD baseball team (15-5, 6-0) remained undefeated in American Southwest Conference East Division play after putting together their second straight weekend series sweep with three wins over Louisiana College (14-9, 2-4). UTD won both ends of a Friday doubleheader, rallying with late runs to win a marathon opener, 14-12; then getting a strong pitching performance late to put together a 9-4 win in the second game. But the weekend was capped off on Saturday when the Comets gave starter Drew Waggoner his second straight complete game shutout win with a 1-0 victory. It was the second straight complete game and shutout for Waggoner, who allowed just one hit against a Wildcat lineup that had 22 hits in the first two games. The shutout lowered his ERA from a 7.88 earlier this season to 3.41.

GAME 1: UTD 14, LC 12 (BOXSCORE)

The Comets and Wildcats hooked up in a wild one in the opener with UTD finally breaking out of the logjam after LC had tied the score at 11-11 in the fifth inning of a seven inning game. After a Jake Jackson triple, Matt Putman homered for the second time in the game to break the tie. The two teams combined for 26 hits, but also benefited from four errors committed by each team which led to a combined seven unearned runs. Putman finished the agame with three hits and six RBI while Brett Rosen was also 3-for-4. Jay Johnson went 2.1 innings and picked up the win in relief while Tim Flasik earned his first save of the season.

GAME 2: UTD 9, LC 4 (BOXSCORE)

Damion Chelakis gave up four runs to the Wildcats in the first two innings, but then settled down to allow just three hits over the his final seven innings while the UTD bats came alive. The Comets tied the game up with a three-run third when Mitch Elliott drove in Rosen and Trent Elizondo with a three-run homerun. The Comets took the lead with an unearned run in the fourth, the got much-needed cushion with a three-run fifth. Elliott reached second base when a ball went right through the legs of the LC third baseman, stole third, then scored on a Jake Jackson single to open the door. After another stolen base, Jackson scored on a single by Putman, who also later scored.

GAME 3: UTD 1, LC 0

The Comets finally eeked out a win for Waggoner, whose assortment of breaking pitches had kept the Wildcat batters guessing throughout the series finale. Freshman Matt Kelly doubled to lead off the eighth, moved to third on a Rosen single, then scored on a sacrifice fly from Elizondo. UTD had missed chances to score in both the first and sixth inning with leadoff hitters at second base as both runners were doubled-off on a line drive and popped-up bunt attempt double play.

Waggoner stayed out of trouble the entire game. The only LC hit was a one-out double in the fifth that left fielder Jake Eisman just narrowly missed catching on a diving attempt. Waggoner left him stranded with a strikeout and ground ball. LC had one other runner reach second base in the seventh on an error, but Waggoner got out of that inning too. He finished with five strikeouts and has not surrendered a run in the last 16 innings.

>>03.12.07
DEFENDING NATIONAL CHAMPS TOO MUCH AT ABILENE CLASSIC

ABILENE, TX - The UTD baseball team missed a chance to make a statement on a national scale Monday when they fell, 9-1, to the defending national champion Marietta College Pioneers at the Abilene Classic Tournament. Marietta, which was off to a 3-0 start, jumped on the Comets with six runs in the third and fourth inning and held UTD from mounting much of a threat. The Comets (12-5) missed a chance to take an early lead in the first inning when Brett Rosen and Trent Elizondo opened the game with singles, but Elizondo was picked off first by Marietta starter Jason Baumler and really never threatened again.

Starter Andrew Hastings threw two shutout innings before the Pioneers came alive in the third. After Tim Flasik relieved Hastings, he was touched by a home run, but then threw 4.2 innings of shutout relief before giving up a pair in the ninth. UTD's only run came in the ninth inning when Mitch Elliott led off with a walk, went to second on a balk, then scored on a pair of ground outs. Rosen was the only Comet to finish with multiple hits. UTD was also supposed to face College of the Southwest in this mid-week tournament, but rain forced the schedule to be shortened. BOXSCORE

>>03.10.07
UTD POUNDS EAST TEXAS BAPTIST IN ASC EAST OPENERS

MARSHALL, TX - The UTD baseball team opened its American Southwest Conference East Division schedule by sweeping a three-game series from East Texas Baptist University in impressive style. The Comets (12-4, 3-0) completely manhandled ETBU in three straight, 14-5, 18-2 and 20-0.

The entire Comet lineup contributed to a 46-hit, 52-run assault that was also helped out by 24 walks issued by ETBU pitchers. The trio of Jake Jackson, Matt Putman and Mitch Elliott accounted for 21 hits, including six doubles, a triple and three home runs during the series. UTD's team batting average is now .375.

Meanwhile, the starting pitching trio of Mark Cox, Damion Chelakis and Drew Waggoner needed no relief help as they scattered 8, 7 and 5 hits, respectively and struck out 28 ETBU hitters. Cox topped that list with a 13-strikeout performance. The Comets put all three games away with big innings. In the opener, UTD broke open a 1-0 game with a seven-run second inning and led 11-0 before ETBU rallied for five runs in sixth. In the first game of the Saturday doubleheader, UTD methodically built up an 18-0 lead, scoring in each of the seven innings behind an attack that included three home runs for the second time in two games. ETBU rallied for two late runs in Game 1, but the Tiger bats were silenced by Waggoner in the nightcap, which only lasted seven innings. Waggoner gave up just five hits while striking out seven. The Comet bats responded with a 14-hit attack that included a 12-run second inning. Putman went 3-for-3 with a home run and 5 RBI. BOXSCORES: Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3

>>03.06.07
ERRORS OPEN DOOR FOR LOSS TO TEXAS WESLEYAN

FORT WORTH , TX - The UTD baseball team committed three errors, including one that opened the door for a three-run opponent inning, as Texas Wesleyan improved to 12-2 Tuesday with a 6-5 win over the Comets at LaGrave Field. TWU had taken a 3-2 lead on UTD in the third after an another error led to an unearned run, then took advantage of a pitching change typical to midweek games to open the lead up to 6-2 with an inning that included the error, two doubles and four walks before reliever Tim Flasik could come in to close the door.

The Comets (9-4) took a 2-0 lead in the first on three hits and a throwing error by TWU, but the Rams answered with a single run in the first and third against starter Andrew Hastings. Reliever Jeff Hinkelman took the loss in spite of pitching two solid innings of one-hit relief. The unearned run on his watch turned out to be the difference. Flasik and Jay Johnson shut down TWU in the final two frames with four strikeouts and did not allow a hit. UTD did rally late to get a single unearned run in the eighth when Matt Kelly scored on a dropped fly ball by the TWU rightfielder. UTD got a pair of singles from Nick Bird and Jayson Garcia to lead off the ninth, and both eventually scored on groundouts before the Comets ran out of time. BOXSCORE

>>03.03.07
COMETS SWEEP PAST LONGTIME NEMISIS HARDIN-SIMMONS

RICHARDSON, TX - The UTD baseball team swept a three-game series from American Southwest Conference West Division power Hardin-Simmons this weekend, scoring 34 runs with an attack that included 44 hits, 11 for extra bases. UTD, which improved to 9-3, pounded HSU, 16-4, Friday; then put together a 7-3 win and 11-10 final-inning victory to sweep a Saturday doubleheader. HSU dropped to 6-6 overall. Senior outfielder Mitch Elliott topped the Comet attack with an 8-for-13 weekend, knocking a pair of home runs and two doubles in the process. UTD also got home runs from Trent Elizondo, Brett Rosen and Matt Putman in the weekend sweep. Sophomore Tim Flasik finished off the first game win with two innings of shutout relief, then picked up the win in the third game with another one-hit showing over 2.1 innings of work.

UTD 16, HSU 4 (BOXSCORE)

Mark Cox picked up his first victory of the season, striking out 12 HSU batters in a seven-inning start before giving way to Flasik. He allowed four runs, but not before the Comets had built up a 15-1 lead after just five innings of play.

Down 1-0, UTD broke the game open with a six-run second inning, highlighted by a 2-RBI single from Elizondo, who finished the series with his batting average still above .600. The Comets added another run in the third, then got five more in the fourth when Elliott homered and Rosen homered. UTD got three more in the fifth on RBI doubles from Nick Bird and Jake Eisman.

UTD 7, HSU 3 (BOXSCORE)

Damion Chelakis dazzled the Cowboy hitters with his breaking stuff in the first game of the Saturday doubleheader, striking out nine over just 5.1 innings of work. He left with a 7-1 lead to pick up the win.

Again, the Comets got all the offense they needed with a four-hit, four-run first inning with freshman Matt Kelly delivering a two-out single that drove in two runs. UTD added three more in the third with a pair of hits and an HSU error.

UTD 11, HSU 10 (BOXSCORE)

The Comets staked starter Drew Waggoner to an early 9-2 lead that HSU gradually overcame by scoring eight runs in the 5th, 6th and 7th innings, most with two outs. UTD then won the game in the eighth with an RBI single from Putman that allowed Elliott to race home all the way from first base.

The Cowboy rally that eventually tied the game was started with two outs in the 5th on an umpiring miscue that opened the door for three HSU runs. Nick Swearingen slapped a short fly ball to right field that Elizondo dove and apparently caught for the third out, but neither umpire made a call. After discussion, the umpires ruled that the play would stand as a base hit since neither had apparently seen the play.

>>02.27.07
COMETS REVERSE FORTUNES, SWEEP DH FROM SOUTHWESTERN

RICHARDSON, TX - Just three days after giving up 43 runs in a three-game road series at McMurry, the UTD baseball team redeemed itself with a doubleheader sweep of Southwestern University in a pair of stingy, well-pitched games. The Comets (6-3) inched out a 2-0 win in the first game behind six solid innings from starter Andrew Hastings; then came up with a pair of clutch hits late to make a winner of Damion Chelakis in a 3-1 victory. With base hits hard to come by for both teams, defense figured prominently in both games. UTD third baseman Jeremy Reagan, a transfer from Southwestern, made several key defensive stops on the left side, and then figured in the scoring in both games.

UTD 2, SOUTHWESTERN 0

The Comets battled Pirate ace Andy Morrison in the first game, only scratching out five hits. But UTD pushed across a couple of runs in the final two innings. Reagan scored the Comets' first run in the fifth after getting hit by a pitch, then scoring on a Brett Rosen single. He then gave UTD some insurance in the sixth when a SU shortstop Richard Falcone rushed a throw on a Reagan ground ball and the ball skipped past first base to allow Nick Bird to score. Meanwhile, Hastings was allowing just four hits and pitching out of what few jams he found himself in. In six shutout innings, he had five strkeouts and stranded six SU runners.

UTD 3, SOUTHWESTERN 1

Starter Clint Zettle had to leave the second game in the second inning with an arm problem, and Chelakis came in to take over. While giving up six hits over 4.1 innings, he continually dodged bullets in a game that was 1-1 after three. Southwestern's only run of the day came with two outs in the third when Chelakis gave up back-to-back, two-out hits. Meanwhile, it looked like UTD might squander its early opportunities. The Comets had the bases loaded with no outs in both the first and third and failed to bring anyone home. With the score tied in the sixth, though, the Comets got a clutch hit from both Matt Putman and Reagan to break the tie and set things up for a shutdown seventh inning relief job by Jay Johnson, who picked up the save.

>>02.26.07
HOT START EARNS PLAYER OF WEEK AWARD FOR ELIZONDO

RICHARDSON, TX - UTD senior outfielder Trent Elizondo has been selected as the American Southwest Conference East Division Hitter of the Week. Elizondo, a senior from The Woodlands, is off to a phenominal start at the plate and raised his batting average up to .696 last week with a 14-for-20 showing against Paul Quinn College and McMurry University. Elizondo collected 14 hits over 20 at-bats, and pounded four doubles. He scored six times and drove in nine more runs while also walking twice.

>>02.24.07
McMURRY JUMPS ON COMET PITCHING

ABILENE, TX - The UTD baseball team had all the offense it needed at its weekend series at McMurry University, but the Comet pitching staff couldn't keep close the door as UTD dropped two of three games despite scoring 35 runs. UTD's pitching and defense gave up 43 runs over the three-game series, surrendering 44 hits and committing nine errors. The Comets (4-3) won the Friday opener, 13-12; but gave up 15-8 and 16-14 losses on Saturday, snapping a four-game win streak.

The Comets almost didn't get the one win they did manage salvage. Starter Mark Cox took a 12-1 lead into the seventh inning of Game 1 before McMurry (4-5) rallied for 11 runs against Cox and two relievers to tie the score and send it into extra innings. UTD got the game winner in the 10th when Trent Elizondo doubled, moved to third on a Jake Jackson single, then scored on a Nick Bird single. UTD used a dramatic double-play from Brett Rosen to Jackson on a shot up the middle to end a McMurry threat in the bottom of the inning to preserve the win.

In Game 2, starter Damion Chelakis gave up 10 runs (only six earned) in a two-inning start and UTD trailed 14-4 after just three innings. The Comets did pound out 15 hits and shaved four runs off the lead over the final four innings. Elizondo, who had 10 hits over the series, was 4-for-5 in that game. The third game of the series was a barn-burner. Errors again allowed three unearned runs as McMurry opened up a 9-3 lead in the first three inniings. UTD exploded for 10 runs over the next three frames, but had just a 13-12 lead after six. After two effective innings, McMurry rallied for four late runs to hold off the Comets, 16-14. In addition to Elizondo, Rosen was 8-for-17 for the series. BOXSCORES: Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3

>>02.20.07
UTD RUNS PAST PAUL QUINN

DALLAS, TX - The UTD baseball team improved to 3-1 on the young season Tuesday with a overpowering 11-5 win over Paul Quinn College. The Comets jumped all over PQC with 10 runs in the first five innings, including a six-run first. Paul Quinn got all five of its runs against the Comet relievers in the final three frames. UTD's Trent Elizondo, who opened the season with a 9-for-15 weekend last week against Trinity, went 4-for-4 with his third double of the season, and drove in four runs. He is now batting a team-best .684 through the first four games.

The Comets also got a good pitching performance from sophomore Tim Flasik (above right), who gave up just two hits in a four-inning start while recording three strikeouts. He picked up the win. Andrew Hastings stopped PQC cold for two innings before giving up a three-run seventh. Jeff Henkelman also pitched in a solid inning of shutout relief. Brett Rosen was also a hitting star for UTD, belting a pair of triples and driving in three runs. Jake Jackson, Matt Putman and Jeremy Reagan all had two-hit afternoons. BOXSCORE

>>02.18.07
COMETS TAKE SERIES FROM NATIONALLY-RANKED TRINITY

RICHARDSON, TX - The University of Texas at Dallas baseball team bounced back from a devastating start to its 2007 season to take two of three games in its season-opening series with 30th-ranked Trinity University. UTD lost its season opener, 16-6, when the Comet relief pitching allowed Trinity to overcome a 6-3 deficit with two outs in the final inning. But UTD got clutch hitting and some strong starting pitching the rest of the way to claim a 14-8 win in the second game Saturday, then an extra-inning 4-3 win in the rubber match on Sunday. Outfielders Trent Elizondo and Mitch Elliott got their senior seasons off to a scorching start. Elizondo had nine hits in just 13 at-bats over the three-game stretch, including four doubles. Elliott was responsible for five RBI with a pair of home runs.

TRINITY 16, UTD 6 (BOXSCORE)

The Tigers, who were 34-13 last season and a NCAA Division III national playoff team, showed resiliance of the worst kind in the opening game. Down 6-3 with two outs in the final inning of a seven-inning game, Trinity sent 15 consecutive batters to the plate and pushed across 13 runs.

The debacle wiped out a strong start from junior Mark Cox, who had held Trinity to just five hits through the first six innings. A quartet of UTD relievers surrendered six walks and eight hits (including a game-tying homerun) while the defense threw in its fourth error of the game. UTD had built an early 6-0 lead with a three-hit third inning, and had eliminated the first two Trinity hitters of the seventh with a double play before the floodgates opened.

UTD 14, TRINITY 8 (BOXSCORE)

When Trinity started the second game of the doubleheader with a three-run first inning, it looked like the Comets might never recover from their earlier misfortune. But UTD jumped right back into it with a five-run first that was capped by a Matt Putman two-out homerun. The Comets added a single run in the second, but Trinity crawled back to within 6-5 after four. UTD then broke the game open with eight hits during a four-run fifth and three-run sixth to pull away. The top third of the Comet order - Nick Hand, Brett Rosen and Elizondo - finished that game 11-for-16. Starting pitcher Damion Chelakis scatter eight hits over six innings, then sophomore Clint Zettle picked up the save with three innings of strong relief.

UTD 4, TRINITY 3 (10 inn.) (BOXSCORE)

The series' finale didn't quite have the hitting of the first two games, but it was not without fireworks. UTD got a strong start from junior Drew Waggoner, who was successfully nursing a 1-0 led through four innings. But Trinity took the lead, 3-1, with a four-hit third inning and Waggoner was on the hook until the Comets rallied to tie with a two-run homerun from Nick Bird in the eighth inning. By then, Jay Johnson (who, ironically was one of the pitchers victimized in the Game One meltdown) was on the mound and keeping Trinity at bay with four innings of two-hit pitching. After the Comets failed to convert on a squeeze play for a game-winning run in the ninth, Johnson very nearly found himself in a jam to start the 10th. Trinity's red-hot Nick Vera ripped a leadoff double down the leftfield line to open the inning, but tripped rounding first base. When Vera successfully reached second, the Comets appealed that he had miss the bag at first and got the call from the base umpire. Johnson then finished off the Tigers with back-to-back strikeouts, and became the winning pitcher in the bottom of the 10th when the Comets got two runners to second and third with one out and Elliott delivered the game-winning sacrifice fly to right field to score Bird.

>>2007 SEASON PREVIEW
Comets Have Firepower To Challenge Again If Pitching Pans Out

After seeing his team come up just short in the 2006 American Southwest Conference title game for the third time in four years, University of Texas at Dallas head baseball coach Shane Shewmake admitted that his Comets simply “ran out of bullets” at the championship tournament.

Despite a lineup that was as solid offensively and defensively from top to bottom as any in UTD’s short five-year history, the valiant, perserving effort of a patchwork pitching staff couldn’t provide enough “bullets” for the Comets to win their fifth game in the three-day ASC Championship Tournament.

With the 2007 season just on the horizon, Shewmake is once again wondering the same thing – what kind of ammunition he will have on the mound this season. Heaven knows, the Comets certainly still have the weapons everywhere else.

For 2007, Shewmake has the enviable task of having to replace just one single starter from a 2006 squad that finished 33-14, hit .320 as a team (including 33 home runs) and scored an average of 7.5 runs per game. And, that minor challenge has proved to be really no challenge at all with a first-team all-conference designated hitter available to plug into that spot. So, suffice it to say that the frontline, everyday lineup is set.

Senior Nick Bird (.318, 11 HRs) won All-ASC honors as a DH last season and will take over at first base for Mark Perez, the Comets’ only graduated senior. At second, UTD welcome back Brett Rosen, a second-team selection who led UTD with a .391 average, 44 RBIs and 112 total bases. Defensive stalwart Jake Jackson returns at shortstop after a late-season surge got his batting average up to .320 with 13 doubles. And, junior Jeremy Reagan was a .329 hitter and solid defender at third base.

The outfield will again be anchored by 2005 ASC East Player of the Year Trent Elizondo. The senior rightfielder, who hit .438 as a sophomore, still drove in 41 runs last season with a .333 average and 25 extra-base hits. Centerfielder Mitch Elliott hit just .274, but provided sometimes spectacular defense and did contribute 20 stolen bases. In left field, solid Nick Hand is looking to improve on his .269 average.

Behind the plate, the Comets welcome back senior Matt Putman, a .348 hitter who also produced 40 RBI and 12 extra-base hits in 2006. Putman will also see time at designated hitter, allowing either freshman Matt Kelly (Sugar Land, TX) or returner Darryl Blalock some opportunities behind the plate. Another possibility at DH is junior Mike Cargile, who has seen spot duty at first base in his first two seasons and hit .333 in 10 games last year. Sophomore outfielder Jake Eisman and senior infielder Jayson Garcia both have seen playing time in the past, and will again be available for backup and pinch-hitting roles along with a solid crop of freshmen and transfers.

The big unknown, however, is the pitching staff – where the Comets are counting almost entirely on newcomers and a handful of returners to take a step forward. The coaching staff is quietly touting the prospects for junior Mark Cox, a converted catcher who began to develop a pitching presence late last season with seven appearances. The side-armer, they say, “has figured out how to pitch,” has tremendous velocity and movement, and should be a front-line starter. Two newcomers to the UTD program figure to battle sophomore curve-baller Drew Waggoner (3-1, 5.61 ERA) for the regular starting spots on the UTD staff. Transfer Damion Chelakis (Houston, TX) had two solid seasons at Brookhaven Community College. Sophomore Andrew Hastings (Plano, TX) had a 3.68 ERA at St. Edward’s University in 2005. Richardson junior Kosuke Fujii is back in the closer role after putting up a 3.72 ERA in a team-high 20 appearances last season. After that, sophomore Clint Zettle (16 appearances as a freshman) and McMurry University transfer Ryan Sablotny (who was injured all last season) figure to get plenty of work in either relief or spot starts. And, of course, there’s always the possibility that one of the newcomers Shewmake has welcomed to the program will step forward quickly.

“I think we will be allright,” says Shewmake, the sixth-year head coach who has led the Comets to a winning record every year, and four straight ASC post-season berths. “After the way last season ended (losing in the championship game), I think we are more focused than ever on not letting that happen again. If our new pitchers will perform like we think they can, I think we’ll be right there again.”

UTD opens its 2007 season Tuesday, Feb. 13 at Paul Quinn and plays nationally-ranked Trinity University in a three-game home stand on Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 17-18.

>>ASC PRE-SEASON POLL
Comets One Of Favorites In East Race

The University of Texas at Dallas baseball team has been picked to finish second in the 2007 American Southwest Conference East Division race in the conference's annual Pre-Season Poll. UTD, which finished the 2006 season 33-14 and advanced to the title game in last year's ASC Championship Tournament, was picked to finish slightly behind favorite UT-Tyler. The Patriots tied with UTD for second place in the ASC East race last season with a 28-11 record and received eight first-place votes. UTD had seven first-place ballots in the poll.

2006 divisional champion Mississippi College (29-16 in 2006) was selected third, but finished 23 points behind UTD in the voting, which included ASC East coaches, sports information directors and media representatives. The rest of the ASC East field included Louisiana College, East Texas Baptist, University of the Ozarks and LeTourneau. Defending league champion Texas Lutheran topped the ASC West Division poll followed by Hardin-Simmons, McMurry, Concordia-Austin, Howard Payne, Mary Hardin-Baylor, Schreiner and Sul Ross State. UT-Tyler, which is in the final year of its NCAA provisional status, will again be unable to compete in the ASC post-season championship. The top four teams in each division will qualify for the post-season playoffs, which will include a best-of-three preliminary round on April. 27-28 followed by the annual ASC Championship Tournament, set to begin May 4 at the highest seeded East Division school.

Comets Open Regional With 5-3 Win

UTD, Cox Keep George Fox Off Balance To Move to Winner's Bracket

SECOND ROUND Comets Give Top-Seed Chapman Scare, But Face Elimination After 7-6 Loss

UTD Must Win Two Friday To Advance To Regional Championship Game

Comets Avenge Loss to TLU, But Can't Get Past Chapman at NCAA West Regionals

UTD Eliminates Bulldogs With 6-3 Win, But Can't Keep Up w/Chapman

SECOND ROUND
Comets Give Top-Seed Chapman Scare,
But Face Elimination After 7-6 Loss