The Dallas Titans outlasted the DFW Rivals in an 8-5 thriller on Sunday at McInnish Park, overcoming multiple lead changes and finishing strong with a decisive eighth-inning rally.
Dallas struck first in the opening inning as Aaron Standley doubled home a run, followed by Eric Bruner’s RBI double in the second to give the Titans an early 2-0 lead. The Rivals answered quickly with power in the second inning, as Tyler Bark launched a two-run home run to right field to even the score.
The back-and-forth continued through the middle innings. Kevin Young tripled to help DFW tie the game in the third, while the Rivals later took a 4-3 lead in the fifth on a sacrifice groundout. Dallas responded in the sixth on a Steely Gill groundout RBI to even things at 4-4.
After trading blows again in the seventh—highlighted by Matt Nelson’s RBI triple and a game-tying single from Tyler Anderson—the Titans finally broke through in the eighth. Korey Gillespie delivered the biggest swing of the game with a two-run single, and Dallas added an insurance run on a passed ball to take control for good.
Brenden Monroe earned the win in relief, while Stephen Alexander turned in a steady five-inning start, allowing four runs on seven hits. Nelson closed the game to secure the save.
Offensively, Dallas collected 14 hits, led by multi-hit performances from Nelson, Greg Kolesar, Stephen Patterson, and Gillespie. Gillespie paced the team with two RBIs, while the Titans also played clean defense, committing no errors behind strong fielding throughout the lineup.
DFW Rivals totaled 10 hits, led by a 3-for-3 performance from Tyler Anderson and two RBIs from Bark. Despite repeatedly answering Dallas rallies, they were unable to contain the Titans’ late offensive surge.