DALLAS BAPTIST @ UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA 
April 29 | Norman, Oklahoma | L. Dale Mitchell Park
                                                        
MULTIMEDIA COVERAGE
DBU Audio: Patriot Broadcasting Network
Livestats: OU Livestats
Facebook: DBU Athletics
 
SERIES INFORMATION
Dates: April 29                                
Time: 6 PM                                     
Stadium: L. Dale Mitchell Park (3,180)                                          
Broadcast: Patriot Broadcasting Network
Talent: Reagan Ratcliff and Nate Frieling
 
PROBABLE STARTERS
Tuesday, April 29
DBU – RHP Joseph Shaw (2-2, 2.51 ERA, 32.1 IP, 9 BB, 29 K)
vs.
OU – RHP Kindle Ladd (3-2, 4.76 ERA, 45.1 IP, 19 BB, 29 K)
 
FIRST PITCH – The Dallas Baptist Baseball Team concludes a four-game road trip on Tuesday at the University of Oklahoma. First pitch is slated for 6 PM as the Patriots look to salvage a 2-2 split on the road trip. 
 
DBU (28-15) dropped the series this past weekend at Missouri Valley Conference foe, Indiana State. Both setbacks were by a run, as the Patriots outscored the Sycamores, 15-14. The Patriot Baseball Team has played in 13 one-run games this year and own a 9-4 record on the campaign.
 
In Tuesday contests this season, the Patriots have gone 6-4, with all of the defeats coming to Big 12 opponents. DBU is 2-5 versus programs from the Big 12 this year.  The remaining three mid-week matchups in the regular season come against Texas Tech and two versus Oklahoma.
 
LAST TIME ON THE DIAMOND – For the second weekend in a row, the Patriots were defeated in a three-game set versust a MVC opponent  All three games at Indiana State this past weekend were decided by three runs or less.
 
In the opener on Friday night, DBU rallied from a 6-0 deficit, scoring five runs in the last three frames, but would fall one run short in a 6-5 affair.  This included a three-run ninth that saw a bases clearing triple from freshman, Camden Duzenack. He was the game-tying run on third with two outs, before senior, Mike Wesolowski, flied out to center to end the comeback effort.
 
For the second day in a row, the Patriots would fall behind early as Indiana State totaled three runs in the first two innings. DBU rallied getting on the board in the fourth and then took the lead for good with a four-run fifth inning.
 
Freshman, David Martinelli, added a much needed insurance run with his fourth homerun of the season in the sixth.  After the home squad narrowed the deficit to 6-5, the Patriots padded their lead with a pair in the seventh inning to take control of its lone win in the series.
 
Junior, Cy Sneed, battled through 5.1 innings, allowing five runs on nine hits, while striking out a season-high eight batters.
 
The bullpen nailed things down on the afternoon as redshirt senior, Josh Urban, and sophomore, Brandon Koch, combined for 3.2 innings of two-hit, shutout baseball. Koch retired the final five outs with a pair coming via strikeout.
 
On Sunday, DBU took the opening lead for the first time in the series with a run in the second. An inning and a half later, the scoreboard shifted to favor the Sycamores 2-1. Indiana State would go on to add an insurance run in the sixth.
 
The Patriots rallied again late with a run coming on a solo shot from Wesolowski in the eighth inning, his fourth homer on the year.
 
Sophomore, Cory Taylor, got the nod on the mound and was effective for 5.2 innings. He allowed three runs (two earned) off four hits. His seven strikeouts added to his club-high 68 on the campaign.
 
HITTERS HEATING UP – Mike Wesolowski paces the Patriots with a team-best, .308 batting average, 52 hits, and 39 runs scored. He's also one of three players that are in double figures for hit by pitches, accumulating 17.
 
After snapping a team-long, 13-game hitting streak last Tuesday, the Mesa, Arizona, native collected hits in all three games over the weekend, including a multi-hit day in Saturday's win. Wesolowski knocked three hits in five at bats, scoring twice, and driving in one. He scored four runs total in the series, with one coming in both the setbacks, and also blasted his fourth homerun of the season, tying hiim for third on the club. 
 
Junior, Drew Turbin, is the other Patriot clubbing over .300 at a .301 clip. The infielder had a terrific week, beginning with a three-hit, three RBI performance over Stephen F. Austin that included a walk-off single in the 10^th inning.  He went 2-for-4 with an RBI in Friday's setback, and added a double while crossing the plate twice in the team's victory Saturday.
 
David Martinelli is third on the squad batting .278, and delivered a solid weekend getting three hits in eight at bats in the two games he started.   On Saturday, the outfielder went 2-for-4 with an RBI and scored twice.  His RBI came on a homer in the sixth inning that helped keep DBU in front after Indiana State scored twice in the bottom of the frame cutting the difference to a run.
 
Sophomore, Daniel Salters, ranks as a top offense performer for DBU with a .488 slugging percentage reflecting why he's in the heart of the order every day. Splitting time at catcher and designated hitter, Salters leads the club with 38 RBI, doubles with 14, triples with five, total bases with 80, and walks with 32.
 
Salters only had two hits the entire series, but both occurred on Saturday giving the native of Eufaula, Oklahoma, 14 multi-hit games on the campaign. In that same game, the first-year starter for DBU boasted a career-high, five RBI.
 
Camden Duzenack topped that number with nine RBI in the opening weekend versus Mississippi Valley State. After garnering school history numbers and accolades that week, the second baseman cooled off a bit in the month of March.  Since then, he has heated back up, picking up multi-hit contests in three of the last five. In Friday's opener, Duzenack went 2-for-5 in his only start of the series, driving in three on a bases loaded triple in the ninth inning.
                               
BULLPEN LIGHTS OUT – The relievers for the Patriots have been effective the past five games, compiling an active season-long, 19.2 scoreless innings streak. The pen has been up to the task, working 7.2 shutout frames and giving DBU a chance to rally in extra innings on Tuesday against SFA.
 
At Indiana State this weekend, the relief corps worked nine innings of shutout baseball. 
 
Brandon Koch remains spectacular with an ERA south of 1.00.  His 0.67 clip is the lowest on the squad, and the Patriots' closeer has fanned the most opposing batters to lead all Patriot relievers, blowing away 48.  The native of Plano, Texas, has a team-high six saves, with the latest coming in the lone win of the series.
 
The righty has worked 12 consecutive innings of not surrendering a run, with the last only being his second given up on the campaign. Prior to that, Koch had a season-long, 13-inning scoreless streak.
 
Josh Urban has been efficient bridging the innings to late relievers, and did the job again on Saturday.  He's back to a sub-2.00 ERA with a 1.89 display for second on the staff. He leads all relievers with 33.1 innings hurled, and is second with 31 punch outs.
 
Sophomores, Joseph Shaw, and Sean Stutzman, have also been a core part of the bullpen and threw significant innings in this recent effective span.
 
Shaw is an inning behind Urban, throwing 32.1 total, and entered last week leading that category. He's second on the club with four saves and has struck out 29 for third in the bullpen.
 
The right-hander will be making his first start of the campaign and second of his career on Tuesday.
 
Stutzman has been a dependable lefty out of the pen, and threw three innings of no-hit, shutout ball at Horner Ballpark versus SFA last week.  The native of Rolling Meadows, Illinois, had a walk given up as his lone blemish in the outstanding outing and he fanned a season-high four opposing batters.  
 
SCOUTING THE SOONERS – Oklahoma (25-20) will be looking to end a five-game losing slide as the squad is in the midst of its longest losing streak since 2007. OU has also dropped 10 of its last 12.
 
Mac James remains atop the squad with a .362 average to go with a team-best 34 RBI. Hunter Haley boasts the team-lead in runs scored, crossing home 38 times, and slugged a team-high six home runs to go with a .302 hitting clip.
 
The Sooners are ranked second in the Big 12 with 24 homers and a .411 slugging percentage and rank third with 265 runs scored.  Six of eight regular starters own a batting average of .280 or better.  As a club, OU is mashing .287 and is 18-12 at home.  In non-conference action, the Sooners are 20-10 versus opposition outside of the Big 12.
 
Oklahoma also strikes out at the lowest rate in the Big 12 at 4.78 per game. James has struck out just eight times and ranks 14th in the nation in "Toughest to Strikeout" at 20.4 at-bats per strikeout.  Hector Lorenzana is second on the team at 13.1.
 
This could be an interesting match-up for a DBU staff that claims second in the MVC with 364 punch outs in 378.1 innings pitched.
 
SERIES HISTORY – The Patriots trail in the all-time series 21-8, but have won each of the last six contests against the Big 12 program. This streak dates back to the 2011 NCAA Fort Worth Regional when DBU upset Oklahoma, 3-2, en route to the first school history appearance in the Super Regional against California.
 
All of DBU's victories have come in the last three seasons, including a 2-0 sweep in 2013. The Patriots were able to garner both wins in two-run differences at each venue. The first was a 2-0 shutout in OU's only appearance at Horner Ballpark, and then a 6-4 decision favored the Patriots Baseball Team in Norman.
 
In the 2-0 final, DBU held the visitors to three hits as Taylor, Koch, and Shaw combined for a shutout with Taylor walking two and fanning seven. Koch retired three via strikeout, and Shaw added a pair to give the team 12 total in the affair.
 
Offensively, the Patriots began the first frame with a run and would not score again until the bottom of the eighth to double their advantage. Senior, KJ Alexander, had a multi-hit showing with two hits in three at-bats. Sophomore, Austin Listi, and junior, Nash Knight, each contributed one of the squad's nine total hits.
 
On the road, DBU exploded for five runs in the third inning to erase a 1-0 deficit that began in the Sooner's first at-bat. Despite a comeback attempt with OU scoring one in the seventh and two in the eighth, respectively, the Patriots got insurance in the ninth with a run and sealed the season-series sweep.
 
Reaching double-digits as a team, Listi had a huge day with a team-high three RBI off of one hit which was a double in the enormous third.  Alexander continued his season-success against OU with another two-hit game and tallied an RBI.  Wesolowski and Knight each contributed a hit in the triumph.
 
Junior, Paul Voelker, got the start and allowed a run (0 earned) off two hits and fanned two batters through three innings of work.  Taylor saw time in relief after tossing five innings in a start at Dallas, Texas. He surrendered a run in 1.2 innings of work.
 
Koch and Shaw wrapped the contest up in the final 2.1 innings combined. The duo got into trouble in the eighth after Koch walked, with both runs coming home on a base hit off of Shaw.  The right-hander out of Ennis would go on to close out the Sooners to earn his fourth save of the season.
 
UPCOMING SCHEDULE – Dallas Baptist returns to Horner Ballpark May 2-4 for a MVC series.  First pitch for the home affairs are 6:30 PM, 2 PM, and 1 PM.  The Patriots will be hosting Missouri State University, which the club already swept on the road once in a three-game set earlier this year.  Those three games did not count towards the conference record of either team.
 
Following this weekend's action, DBU will host Texas Tech on May 6 to finish off a home-and-home series. The Red Raiders claimed the earlier season match-up a few weeks ago, 5-4, on April 15.
 
The team's last road conference series comes the following weekend, as the Patriots travel for a three-game set at Wichits State, May 9-11.