TYLER, TX (02.06.09) - The UT Dallas baseball team got a good combination of timely hitting and effective pitching Friday to open the 2009 season with a 6-5 victory over Concordia University in the opening game of the UT-Tyler Easton Classic Tournament.
The Comets, who were trying to shake off a disappointing 2008 season and worked a number of new players into the lineup during the three-game weekend, followed that up with a 9-5 win over Trinity University Saturday morning before falling 8-6 in a rematch with Concordia on Saturday.
UTD (2-1) hit just .283 as a team, but had five players hit .333 and knocked four home runs in the three-game set. Senior centerfielder Neal Gordon went 6-for-14 (.429), had two extra-base hits and drove in four runs while scoring four others. Transfer third baseman
Cody Ross topped all hitters with five hits in 10 at-bats, including a double and a home run.
Ross, centerfielder
Neal Gordon and pitchers
Jeremiah Valentine and
Tim Flasik were chosen for the All-Tournament team.
Senior
Drew Waggoner, who started the opener, and several Comet relievers had a nice start to the season; but it was a disappointing start for several of the hurlers being counted on for starting roles.
UTD 6, CONCORDIA (TX) 5 (Boxscore)
Senior
Jared Smith (pictured above) topped a seven-hit offensive attack with a three-run home run in the 4th that got UTD out of a 2-0 hole, then scored the game-winning run in the 8th on an RBI single from one of the newcomers, junior catcher Adam Hudec. Smith and returning centerfielder
Neal Gordon were the only two Comets with more than one hit in the opener.
Senior
Drew Waggoner got the opening day start and threw five effective innings, giving up just three hits and striking out five. He did, however, give up a solo homerun for his first hit of the season in the first, then was victimized by an unearned run in the second. Concordia regained the lead with a three-run sixth against
Brandon Dinwiddie, who was seeing his first action since undergoing arm surgery, but senior
Jeremiah Valentine came to the rescue and shut the Tornadoes down with two no-hit innings of relief to pick up the win.
Adam Spinn put the first two hitters he faced in the ninth on base, but pitched his way out of it for a save.
After falling behind 5-3, the Comets got to within a run in the bottom of the 6th when Gordon singled and scored an unearned run on a CTX error. UTD tied the game up in the 7th when senior
Chad Hudson singled, stole second base and scored on a Gordon double.
UTD 9, TRINITY 5 (Boxscore)
The Comets improved to 2-0, breaking open a 5-5 tie with four runs in the 7th and 8th innings against Trinity University, which had defeated UT-Tyler in its opener Friday night. The Comets got a 3-for-4 game out of Gordon, who had a two-run homer in the 8th to ice the win.
UTD was down 4-1 in the third after Trinity greeted stater
Damion Chelakis with a rude return from an arm injury, but
Brad Buchanan came to the rescue in the 5th. The Comets went ahead 5-4 in the 4th after a
Chris Biguenet homer and Gordon RBI single only to see Trinity tie things up in the 5th.
After three scoreless innings, the first three Comets drew walks in the 7th and
Johnny Martinez brought home the winning run with a sacrifice fly.
Buchanan picked up his first win of the season, giving up just one run in three innings before reliable
Tim Flasik picked up the save with shutout relief in the 8th and 9th.
CONCORDIA 8, UTD 6 (Boxscore)
In the tournament finale, the Comets rallied for five runs in the final three innings, but could not overcome a 5-0 start for the Tornadoes in the rematch.
Newcomer pitcher
Jonathan Reeder gave up five runs in his first two innings of work before giving way to
Dane Dougherty, Valentine and Spinn.
Down 8-3 going into the ninth, UTD rallied for three runs and had the tying runs on base when the game ended. Ross was 3-for-5 in a losing cause.
Weather permitting, the Comets' home opener is set for 2 pm Tuesday afternoon against Hardin-Simmons.