OVERLAND PARK, Kan. – The Dallas Christian College baseball team split a four-game series with a pair of splits on doubleheaders this past Friday and Saturday at Kansas Christian College. Both contests on Friday were determined by a run, as the Crusaders fell 7-6 in the series opener before evening things with a 6-5 final in the second contest. On Saturday, the Crusaders fell 7-3 and then closed the series out with a 5-2 triumph.

In game one, the Falcons grabbed a 3-0 lead with a three-spot in their first turn to bat. In the second inning, the Crusaders got two runs back on a single by Casey Morrow that scored Nate Vasquez and Adriel Davila. A three-run fourth lifted DCC in front for the first time in the game. Kansas Christian rallied in the sixth with four runs to take a 7-5 advantage. Stefon Reyes advanced to second on the second out that was flied to right. Davila singled him in to make it 7-6, but the Crusaders rally stalled with a strikeout to end the game.

Morrow led DCC with the lone multi-hit game at 2-for-3. Garrett Moody and Travis Whitehurst had the other runs-batted-in. Ryan Bailey anchored the pitching staff with five innings thrown of relief, but ran out of steam in the sixth. He had relieved Anthony Esposito, who got the start.

Game two was back-and-forth with each side trading runs throughout the game. Reyes doubled home Carlos Torres in the first inning, but KCC found a run in the home half to equal the total. The Crusaders found a two-spot in the second and added one in the third to go up 5-2. A couple bases-loaded walks helped DCC in the second inning score, and then a sacrifice fly by Davila scored Alex Westman, who had tripled to start the third. The Falcons got a run in the third and fourth to make it a one-run game. A pair of runs gave DCC the cushion it needed, as an error by the first baseman allowed Westman and Josh Freeman to score. Westman had doubled and Freeman singled, but the wild throw allowed the runners to hustle around the diamond. This was a crucial sequence, as the Falcons got two runs scored in the bottom of the inning. Davila picked up a strikeout, one-of-two in his inning of completion to grab the save and even the series. Collin Patten got the win in the start and threw six innings.

In the third game, the Crusaders jumped out to a 3-0 lead thanks to a run in the second and two in the third. KCC plated seven unanswered runs with three in the fourth and four in the fifth, which was the deciding inning. The Crusaders outhit their home opposition 9-6, led by a trio of multi-hit performances. These were done by Brandon Andrews, Morrow, and Cade Croysdale. Andrews doubled and Reyes tripled in the game for extra-base hits. Trever Smith got the start and went 4.2 innings. Ian Nash got the last four outs, not allowing a run and working around a hit and two walks. The duo struck out five.

In the series finale, the Crusaders earned the split by scoring two runs in the first inning. Andrews, who was a perfect 4-for-4 on the day and scored three runs, would count as the first run on a double by Reyes. An error allowed Reyes to move to third and he later scored on a ground out by Westman. The Crusaders tacked a run in the third and had two more runs in the fifth. KCC got a run back in the fourth and run in the seventh, but no further damage.

Andrews and Reyes combined to score all the runs for DCC. Andrews tripled and Freeman also recorded a double. Esposito made his second start of the series and threw three innings. Sam Marvin pitched a scoreless fourth with two strikeouts. Torrez garnered 2.1 innings and also had two strikeouts. Davila entered to record the last two outs and get his second save on the weekend.

Dallas Christian took the split on Kansas Christian, who moved up a spot to No. 5 in the NCCAA Top 10 Rankings and are 22-9. 

. DCC improved to 16-35-1 overall and are 7-7 against Regional opponents. In the Month of April, DCC finished 10-4 and have its eyes set on the Southwest Regional Tournament, where it will play No. 6 Ecclesia College. The Crusaders are looking to reschedule their Mid-America Christian University doubleheader from this week.