The Dallas Baptist men’s baseball team will look to bounce back following an opening loss in the Tucson Regional of the College World Series with a game against the University of Arizona on Saturday at 3 p.m. CT.
Dallas Baptist lost its first game of the College World Series against West Virginia University, who got out to an early 3-0 lead in the third inning and never looked back, finishing the game with a 4-1 victory.
Mountaineers pitcher Derek Clark threw a complete game and limited the Patriots to just four hits, with their lone run not crossing home plate until the eighth inning.
The Patriots will now prepare for their matchup against Arizona on Saturday afternoon as the team looks to win three consecutive games and advance out of their regional.
Dallas Baptist matched up against Arizona earlier this year when it played a single game during the Frisco College Baseball Classic, in which the Patriots came out on top with a 4-3 victory.
This game featured multiple momentum shifts. The Patriots took an early 2-0 lead, but Arizona stormed back with three runs in the third inning.
Dallas Baptist ended the game by scoring two more runs in the eighth inning after scoring on a wild pitch and a groundout to second base.
Losing to Arizona on Saturday would end the Patriots’ season as they must now avoid a second loss against the teams in the Tucson Regional to advance into the championship, where they could face the winner of the Chapel Hill Regional to advance into the Super Regional round of the World Series.
A win for the Patriots would keep their season alive and move them into a third game against the loser of the West Virginia versus Grand Canyon University game, which is scheduled to take place at 9 p.m. CT.
Dallas Baptist entered the postseason with a record of 44-13, including a 17-7 record against its opponents from Conference USA.
Although Dallas Baptist finished behind Lousiana Tech in the standings based on their records, the Patriots defeated Lousiana Tech 17-10 on May 26 in the Conference USA Championship to win the conference title.
