The University of Texas at Dallas baseball team capped a perfect run through the American Southwest Conference (ASC) postseason tournament, knocking off East Texas Baptist University 5-1 on May 14 to win the 2021 ASC baseball championship for the second time in the program’s history.
UT Dallas (29-10) used timely hitting and a stellar pitching performance to win its 10th straight game and earn an automatic berth in the NCAA Division III National Championship Tournament. The NCAA tournament pairings will be announced May 23 on ncaa.com.
With the game tied 1-1 in the top of the fifth inning, UT Dallas outfielder Marcos Villegas drove in two runs with a one-out single that put the Comets up for good. UT Dallas added two more runs on a pair of errors in the sixth inning.
Starting pitcher Blake Birdwell, who earned All-ASC tournament honors, allowed just one run while striking out four batters in seven innings. Relievers Ben Soule and Orion Drymond shut out East Texas Baptist in the final two innings.
Villegas, Carter Cochrane, Jacob Perry and Ramon Garza joined Birdwell as All-ASC selections. Garza, who went 6-for-10 with one home run, scored five runs and drove in five more in the best-of-3 championship series, was named series MVP.
The Comets won their first ASC baseball championship in 2018.