Bears Sweep Lions, Move up in DAC Standings
FARMERS BRANCH, Texas – Dallas College Brookhaven's baseball team won the final two games of a three-game series with Dallas College Mountain View, 5-4 and 12-10, Friday and Saturday to sweep the series.
It was the Bears' first Dallas Athletic Conference series sweep this season. The wins moved Brookhaven (13-32, 7-17 Dallas Athletic Conference) a game ahead of Mountain View (18-27, 6-18) in the league standings with two weeks remaining. The top five DAC teams are assured of a spot in the National Junior College Athletic Association Division III South Central District Tournament May 10-13.
Brookhaven scored a run in each of the last two innings Friday to overcome a 3-2 deficit to win. The Bears took a 2-1 lead in the first, but Mountain View reclaimed control with two runs in the top of the fourth to creep ahead, 3-2. After Brookhaven tied it with a run in the fifth, the Lions scored again in their next at-bat to carry a 4-3 lead into the eighth. That's when the Bears' offense delivered in crunch time.
Balin Valentine went 3-for-5 with a pair of doubles for the Bears. Peyton Starr doubled, drove in a run and had three walks. Jacob Vela was 2-for-4 with two stolen bases. Hunter Pope doubled, and had an RBI in four plate appearances. Diego Canuelas was 1-for-4 with an RBI.
Mountain View's Keaton King was 1-for-3 with a double and two RBI. Anthony Casteneda was 1-for-2 with a double and an RBI. Archie Beasley was 1-for-3 with a stolen base. Adrian Cindo had a double in four trips to the plate.
Brookhaven's Aaron McInvale got the win in relief, retiring the last two batters in the ninth. Starter Ronald Zamora gave up three runs on four hits and two walks, and struck out seven over the first five innings. Dustin Davidson pitched 3.1 innings, giving up a hit, an unearned run and two walks, while fanning four.
Lions starter Julian Pokorny gave up three runs, two earned, five hits and three walks, and struck out eight in seven innings.
In the series finale, Brookhaven raced out to a 9-1 lead through five innings. Mountain View scored four runs in the top of the sixth to cut it to 9-5. The Bears scored twice in the seventh to give themselves a six-run cushion. The Lions responded with five runs in the eighth to pull within a run, but the Bears picked up an insurance run in the bottom half of the inning, and reliever Hunter Beltran closed the door for his second save of the year.
Beltran worked the final inning-and-a-third, allowing just a walk to seal the deal. Brookhaven starter Jason Bonnett went 5.1 innings, allowing three hits, four runs, two earned, and five walks, while matching his season high with 12 strikeouts to earn the victory. Nathan Jacobson went two innings, allowing five hits, five runs, none earned, and a walk, and had three strikeouts.
Valentine was 4-for-4 with two doubles, a triple, two RBI, three stolen bases and a walk. Starr went 3-for-3 with a home run, triple, four RBI, a stolen base and two walks. It was Starr's eighth homer of the season. Ray Jaramillo went 1-for-4 with an RBI. Canuelas was 1-for-4 with an RBI, two stolen bases and a walk. Vela tripled, drove in a run, had a stolen base and walked in two at-bats. Pope was 1-for-4 with two RBI.
Mountain View's Marcus Delgado went 2-for-4 with two RBI. Jafed Parilla was 2-for-5 with a double and an RBI. King went 2-for-5.
Brookhaven will play a three-game series with Dallas College Eastfield this week.