No. 4 Richland Begins Series with No. 2 Eastfield for DAC Supremacy

Dallas College Richland's fourth-ranked baseball team begins a key three-game series with No. 2 Dallas College Eastfield 12 p.m. Wednesday in a battle for first place in the Dallas Athletic Conference.

The Harvester Bees (28-4, 9-0 DAC) will host the first game, while the Thunderducks (20-11, 9-0) will host the final two games of the three-game set Friday and Saturday.

Eastfield won the DAC regular season title last year before Richland captured the National Junior College Athletic Association Division III South Central District Tournament. Both teams advanced to the NJCAA Division III Tournament. Eastfield finished as the national runner-up for the third straight year, while Richland bowed out in the semifinals.

The Bees are coming off a 9-8 12-inning win over North Central Texas College Monday. The Thunderducks dropped Monday's nonconference game at Panola College, 5-1.

Eastfield's Sebastian Palma is hitting .464 with eight doubles, four triples, two home runs and 33 runs batted in. Erik Aguirre is batting .456 with eight doubles, two triples, two homers and 22 RBI. Michael Caputo is hitting .448 with 13 doubles, four triples, three homers and 29 RBI. Jorge Herrera has a nation-leading 46 RBI. Angel Gutierrez is tied for the most stolen bases (27) in NJCAA Division III.

Harvester Bees pitcher Benjamin Sheppard is 4-0 with one save and a 1.67 earned run average in nine appearances, including one complete game. Logan Young is 3-0 with 33 strikeouts and a 2.83 ERA in six starts. Ryan Dyer is 2-0 with a 4.73 ERA and 24 strikeouts in 26.2 innings. Reliever Jason Miller has one save, a 1.00 ERA and 19 strikeouts in eight appearances over 17.2 innings. Teague Rehwald leads the country in strikeouts (49), and is 3-0. Tyler Do is 2-1 with a 5.40 ERA and 37 strikeouts in 36.2 innings.

Richland's Trey Smith is batting .419 with 16 doubles, two triples, seven home runs and 41 RBI, which ranks third in the country. Jhosnel Ruiz is hitting .389 with eight doubles, a triple and 19 RBI. Barrett Howard is hitting .353 with four doubles and 16 RBI in 11 games. Jordan Owns is hitting .337 with two doubles, two triples, 13 RBI and nine stolen bases. Sean Amarante is hitting .330 with eight home runs, which ranks second in the country, four doubles, two triples and 35 RBI.

Thunderducks pitcher Aidan Valenzuela is 4-1 with one save and a 3.21 ERA. Payne Williams is 4-0 with a 2.19 ERA and 20 strikeouts in 24.2 innings. Bron Farr is 2-1 with a 2.89 ERA in 46.2 innings.

This week's series is the penultimate week of the first round of conference play. Next week will complete the first of two rounds between DAC opponents.