Box Score

A seven run first inning would be all the Dallas Baptist Baseball Team would need versus Missouri State on Friday at Bob Warn Field in Terre Haute, Indiana, as the Patriots cruised to a 9-4 win.  The victory earns DBU (39-19, 14-7) a ticket to tomorrow night's Missouri Valley Conference Tournament Championship Game, where they will meet Illinois State at 7 pm.

After Missouri State starter, Sam Perez, retired the first man he faced, the Patriots responded with seven consecutive base hits and four runs.  Perez, who was making his first career start, was promptly lifted for Matt Hall out of the bullpen.  The first batter Hall faced, Nash Knight, deposited a double to right center, scoring two more runs.  A Drew Turbin ground out to the right side plated one more run and at the end of the top of the first, DBU claimed a 7-0 lead.

Patriot starter, Drew Smith, worked a scoreless first before surrendering a two-run homerun to Eric Cheray.  In the bottom of the fifth, an Aaron Meyer single scored Trey Hair, cutting the DBU lead to 7-3. 

Missouri State (26-31, 9-12) would remain as close as four runs before Patriot senior, KJ Alexander, belted a two-run homerun over the left field wall, giving DBU a 9-3 edge.

The Bears would manage just one run off of Patriot reliever, Josh Urban, in the ninth, as DBU claimed 9-4 win and a birth in the MVC Tournament Championship Game.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
* DBU starter, Drew Smith, worked a career-high 5.2 innings and threw a career-high 109 pitches.  The win was his third of the season.
* KJ Alexander's homerun was his fourth of the season.  It matches a career-high in homeruns for Alexander, who hit four homeruns as a freshman in 2011 and four in 2013 as a junior.
* Josh Urban worked 3.1 innings to earn his second career save.  His other save came in three innngs of work versus Baylor on April 11th.
* Camden Duzenack is 7-for-his-last-11 in the tournament over the last three games.
* DBU finished the season 7-2 versus Missouri State

QUOTE OF THE GAME
"The seven run first inning was huge for our team coming off a tough loss in the first game and that set the tone for the game.  Drew Smith and Josh Urban did an outstanding job on the mound of competing in the strike zone and making them earn their runs." - Dan Heefner, DBU Head Baseball Coach