THE LEAD
In a non-conference showdown between two teams ranked in the top 25, No. 23 Dallas Baptist fell 7-5 to the No. 11 Texas A&M Aggies at Blue Bell Park on Tuesday night in College Station, Texas.  A two run bottom of the seventh inning by the Aggies broke a 5-5 tie and lifted Texas A&M to their 13th consecutive victory, while handing the Patriots their second straight loss after starting the year 6-0.
 
After falling behind 1-0 in the first, a David Martinelli towering shot over the right field wall knotted the game at one.  The solo home run was Martinelli's third of the year. 
 
Still tied at one in the top of the fourth, DBU (6-2) manufactured a run on a successful double steal that saw Justin Wall come home as Martinelli stole second. 
 
After Patriot starter, Jay Calhoun, retired 10 Aggie batters in a row, the senior righty allowed back-to-back one out singles before being pulled for Chance Adams.  With runners at first and second, Texas A&M's Nick Banks delivered a two run double down the left field line to give the Aggies back the lead at 3-2. 
 
Following Banks' double, Logan Taylor smashed an Adams' offering over the center field wall for his fifth home run of the year and extending the Aggie lead to 5-2.
 
Down three in the fifth, DBU scratched two runs across the board on RBI singles by Camden Duzenack and Justin Wall.  In the top of the seventh, the Patriots climbed back from a three run deficit to tie the game at five on a Martinelli single to left.
 
Following two shutout innings from the Patriots' Cory Taylor, the Aggies would respond with a pair of runs in the bottom of the seventh to retake the lead.  With runners at first and third and one out, Ryan Birk ripped a single off of Drew Smith to put Texas A&M up 6-5.  Following a walk by Smith that loaded the bases, Sean Stutzman came out of the pen and walked the first batter he faced, giving the Aggies a 7-5 lead.
 
In both the eighth and ninth innings, DBU brought the tying run to the plate, but were unable to deliver, as the game ended on a double play off the bat of Trooper Reynolds.
 
DBU HEAD COACH, DAN HEEFNER – ON THE DIFFERENCE IN THE GAME TONIGHT
" I think the biggest difference tonight was situational hitting.  We missed a huge opportunity in the seventh with the bases loaded and one out.  As for them, I thought they had a better approach than us in situations where they had runners in scoring position.  Then obviously the walks late in the game hurt us.  You have to make them earn it in those situations.  I do think there are some positives to take from this though and I think our guys are seeing that if we play the game right, we can play with anyone in the country."  
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
3 – Both Camden Duzenack and David Martinelli each collected three hits tonight.
4 – Four different Patriots recorded multi-hit games (Duzenack, Martinelli, Reynolds, and Wall)
8 – Number of runners left by DBU in scoring position.
 
UP NEXT FOR THE PATRIOTS
DBU travels to Tulsa, Oklahoma for a weekend series versus Oral Roberts.  First pitch for Friday night's game is scheduled for 6:30 pm.