Box Score

Austin Listi's solo blast to left field in the top of the ninth capped off a 1-0 win and handed the Patriots a three-game sweep of Missouri State on Saturday.  The victory was the third straight shutout over the Bears this weekend and extends the Patriot pitching staff's scoreless streak to 30 consecutive innings.  The win is the sixth in a row for  DBU (15-4) and matches their best start since the 2001 season.

In another pitcher's duel between the two teams, Cory Taylor and Matt Hall matched one another with scoreless frames.  Taylor who was coming off a win versus BYU on Monday, tossed seven innings and struck out a career-high 11 batters.  "I thought Cory was outstanding today," DBU Head Coach, Dan Heefner stated after the game.  "He had command of his pitches to both sides of the plate and did a great job of keeping them off-balance."

In the eighth, tied at 0-0, Taylor gave way to Sean Stutzman.  After a one out walk, MSU's Spencer Johnson popped a shallow fly ball to left center that went over the outstretched glove of short stop, Trevin Sonnier.  Left fielder, Tagg Duce's throw to the bag at second nipped pinch-runner, Matt Dezort, for a critical second out. 

Josh Urban would come on in relief of Stutzman and after a wild pitch moved Johnson to second base, Urban retired Tate Matheny on a fly out to right field.

In the Patriots' half of the ninth, Austin Listi continued the magical weekend with a two-out, towering homerun down the left field line.  The run marked the third straight game in which DBU erased a scoreless game with a run in the ninth inining. 

Following a lead-off walk in the bottom of the ninth, Urban induced a double-play ball to second baseman, Camden Duzenack.  After Dylan Becker was hit by a pitch with two outs, Brandon Koch came out of the pen to record the final out, striking out MSU's Matt Fultz.

Along with the terrific pitching in the three-game series, DBU also played errorless baseball.  "That was a huge part of this weekend," Heefner remarked.  "When you pitch that well, it's important to play great defense and we did that in all three games.

With the win, DBU matches their longest win streak since March 8-14, 2012.  The Patriots wrap-up a four-game road trip when they visit No. 16 Texas on Tuesday night in Austin.  Fans can follow Tuesday night's game on the Patriot Broadcasting Network (www.dbupatriots.com/showcase) beginning with the Patriot Pre-Game Show at 5:30 pm.  First pitch is scheduled for 6:00 pm.