Baseball Completes Three-Game Series with DCC

DALLAS, TEXAS -- The Blackburn College Baseball team finished their spring break trip to Texas by taking on Dallas Christian College in a three-game series, taking on the hosts in a doubleheader Wednesday and a single game on Thursday. 

In Wednesday first game, DCC struck first but Blackburn answered in the second. Dominic Medrano got on through an error and Diego Perez walked. After Luke Ellinger walked, Brett Lander doubled to score both Medrano and Perez and put the BC deficit to 3-2. The next inning, BC took a lead. Andrew Lozano got things started with a walk then scored off a Perez double. Omar Claudio, who got on with a single, and Perez gave the Beavers a 5-3 lead when they scored thanks to a Luke Ellinger single.

After getting hit by a pitch, Royce Congi on a Claudio sacrifice fly to put BC up 6-3 in the fourth inning. After the hosts scored in their fourth, Perez made it 7-4 in the fifth when he scored on a Lander single. Unfortunately, DCC scored seven runs in the sixth inning which proved too much to overcome as the Beavers fell 11-7 in the opener. 

Wednesday's second game saw the hosts take a 3-0 lead after scoring three runs in the third. Ellinger scored the first Blackburn in the top of the fifth. Lander made it 3-2 when he scored on Andrew Lozano's triple. The Crusaders added three more runs in the bottom of the inning, making it 6-2.

Frankie Ruiz narrowed the gap in the sixth when he scored on an Ellinger double. Ruiz then helped Blackburn score in the seventh with a single to score Carter Hood. However, the offensive effort would come up short as Blackburn fell 6-4. 

Thursday's game featured extra innings with BC scoring first. Ellinger singled to get on base then got to third thanks to Lozano and Perez. He scored on a sacrifice fly from Ruiz to give the team a 1-0 lead. Lozano extended by scoring on a senior C.J. Brunaugh single. During the next at bat, Perez  put Blackburn up 3-0 thanks to another sacrifice fly from Ruiz. 

The hosts responded with a run in their fifth, but the Beavers answered in the seventh thanks to sacrifice fly from Harley Carney to score sophomore Joshua Moreno and make it 4-1. Unfortunately, DCC scored four runs in the eighth but Blackburn tied it back up in the top of the ninth. Lozano opened the inning with a double and scored on another Bruaugh single, making it 5-5. After a scoreless tenth, Dallas Christian was able to score in the bottom of the 11th to win 6-5. 

With the defeat, the Beavers return to Illinois and will head to Principia College Saturday to open St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference action.