THE LEAD
No. 26 DBU defeated Oral Roberts 6-1 on Saturday afternoon at Horner Ballpark. In front of a crowd of 682, third baseman Austin Listi went four-for-five with an RBI and two runs scored.
 
Starting pitcher and designated hitter Darick Hall (1-0) earned the win for the Patriots with seven innings of work, giving up only one run on five hits. Hall struck out six Golden Eagles on 89 pitches. ORU's Nick Wood (0-1) suffered the loss after giving up two runs on six hits in 5 1/3 innings. Wood walked five Patriots. Entering the game with the bases loaded, Sean Stutzman closed out the Golden Eagles, retiring the the only two batters he faced for the final two outs of the game. 
 
DBU got on the board first in the bottom of the fourth, beginning with a one-out double by Austin Listi. Catcher Matt Duce flied out to deep left-center, allowing Listi to tag up. Second baseman Luke Stratman singled to shallow right field to knock in Listi to give the Patriots an early 1-0 advantage. Oral Roberts evened the score in the top of the fifth, courtesy of a Mason Mantle double that scored Trevin Sonnier from first base.
 
The Patriots regained the lead in the fifth inning on a RBI single off the bat of Listi. In the sixth inning, DBU extended its lead to 3-1 with another RBI single by Justin Wall that brought Stratman home. A throwing error by catcher Matt Whatley allowed Camden Duzenack to cross the plate to increase the lead to three.
 
The Patriots took advantage of another Oral Roberts error in the seventh inning when third baseman Michael Huntgate fumbled a groundball, allowing Listi to score and make the score 5-1. Duce picked up his third RBI of the season when he knocked in Daniel Sweet, running for Hall, in the eighth inning.
 
COACH DAN HEEFNER – ON HALL'S PERFORMANCE ON THE MOUND
"You couldn't ask for more from him. He has a great presence and a great tempo on the mound."
 
AUSTIN LISTI – ON HITTING SIXTH IN THE LINEUP ON SATURDAY
"I felt good today and feel like I'm seeing the ball really well right not.  In the six spot, you get to see what the pitcher's doing and what guys do before you, so it gives you a little more of an early scouting report on him."
 
THREE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW
-Before the seventh inning, Darick Hall had not allowed a hit to the leadoff-man in 12 consecutive innings.
-Listi's last four-hit game came against Oklahoma on April 29, 2014.
-DBU's pitching staff held the Golden Eagles hitless with runners in scoring position today.
 
IN THE NUMBERS
4 – Four of the Patriots' six runs came with two outs.
70 – Darick Hall threw 70 strikes in the win (89 pitches overall).
6 – DBU has scored first in all six games this season.
 
UP NEXT FOR THE PATRIOTS
DBU and Oral Roberts play the final game of the weekend series on Sunday, February 28, at 1 p.m. at Horner Ballpark. Dalton Higgins (1-0) takes the mound for the Patriots against Taylor Varnell (0-0).