Baseball Beats UT Dallas to Claim Fourth Win
Anthem, Ariz. – The Whitman Baseball Team finished their southern trip with a 9-2 victory over the University of Texas-Dallas. Pitchers Justin Weeks (Sr., Palos Verdes, CA) and Will Thompson (So., Santa Ana, CA) tamed the Comets bats, not giving up an earned run in nine innings of work.
Whitman’s offense scored in five of the nine innings against UT-Dallas, a regional qualifier a year ago. “We were able to score runs multiple ways today,” said Head Coach Sean Kinney. “We didn’t have the big inning, but we found ways to scratch out runs with situational hitting, good base running, and clutch two-strike hits.”
Whitman jumped on top in the first inning when freshman Ozzy Braff (Fr., Palo Alto, CA) drove in Kyle Buckham (Jr., Bellingham, WA) to give the Missionaries a 1-0 lead. The offense tacked on two more in the fourth inning when Jonny Chow (So., Keaau, HI) reached on an error and then stole both second and third base. Braff doubled to score Chow and then junior Jimmy Madden (Jr., Huntington Beach, CA) stroked a two-strike single to score Braff, pushing the lead to 3-0.
Although the Missionaries continued to add to their lead, the three runs would be enough for senior starter Justin Weeks. He picked up the win in five innings of work, allowing no earned runs. Weeks moved to 1-1 on the season, surrendering only six hits and two runs in his second start of the season. “Justin sets a great tone for this team every time he takes the mound,” said Kinney. “His experience and composure in big situations cannot be underestimated. Both he and Will (Thompson) threw the ball really well today and executed pitch after pitch.”
Thompson closed things out for Whitman, working four scoreless innings to pick up his first save of the season. He retired the last seven hitters he faced and struck out three Comets on the day.
Whitman scored two more in the fifth and three more in the sixth, after chasing the Comet starter. The Missionaries added their final run in the ninth when sophomore Peter Carmichael (Bellingham, WA) drove in freshman Paul Heywood (Bellevue, WA) with a single up the middle.
Madden and Braff finished the day with three hits apiece for the Missionaries, with Madden knocking in three runs.
Whitman finished their pre-season swing with a 4-2 record, going 3-1 in the 2013 Arizona Classic this weekend. Whitman follows up with a bye week before heading to Caldwell, ID to play the College of Idaho Coyotes in a four game set on February 23r and 24.
The main writer on this story was Sean Kinney
Contact:
Andrew Holt
Whitman Sports Information Director
509.527.5902
345 Boyer Ave.