THE LEAD
The temperature did not change much between Friday and Saturday's games for DBU(20-10, 2-0 MVC) and Illinois State (8-22, 0-2 MVC) and neither did the fortunes of the Redbirds as they faced Darick Hall both on the mound and at the plate on a much sunnier day in Normal, Illinois. And much like the cold, it was the same old story for the Patriots as Hall turned in another spectacular effort in all phases of his game as DBU ran their conference record to 2-0 on the strength of a 7-1 win over Illinois State.

Hall picked up the win by throwing 6 innings of one-run baseball and aided in his own success by collecting two hits, four RBI, and his 12^th homerun of the season. Jameson Hannah had his second-straight three-hit game and David Martinelli also picked up multiple hits on the afternoon. Landon Wilson came out of the bullpen and earned a three-inning save by closing out the game by facing only two over the minimum.

Unlike Friday night in the snow, it did not take long for the Patriot offense to put runs on the board. Jameson Hannah led off the contest with an infield single to shortstop and David Martinelli followed with a sharp single back up the middle. After a strikeout of Luke Stratman, Hall strode to the plate with a chance to give himself an early cushion and he delivered with his 12^th homerun of the season, an opposite field blast to straightaway left field.
 
DBU extended the lead to four runs in the third inning with a little help from the Redbirds. With two outs and nobody on, Stratman pushed a bunt right back to the mound. With what seemed to be an easy out in hand and the end of the inning secured, a lackadaisical throw to first was mishandled by ISU first baseman Derek Parola and Stratman found himself with a free pass.

Taking advantage, the Patriot second sacker stole second before Hall was hit by a pitch and Stratman then scored as Daniel Sweet singled through the right side. That run would prove fortuitous as Illinois State scratched for a run of their own in the bottom of the inning on two hits and a groundout but the lead remained at three.
 
From there, the DBU offense gave Hall plenty of cushion on the mound. A five-hit fourth inning led to three more runs for the Patriots and spelled the end of the day for Illinois State starter David Meade. The Patriots left the bases loaded in the inning but not before getting RBI hits from Hannah, Martinelli, and Hall.
 
With quiet innings thereafter for the Patriot bats, it was up to Hall to keep the Redbird offense at bay and he answered the bell for Dan Heefner's charges. Hall was lifted from the mound after six full innings and 95 pitches. The pitcher and designated hitter allowed only the one run on five hits and struck out five before giving way to southpaw Landon Wilson for the seventh inning.
 
Wilson was almost perfect in his three innings, allowing only an infield single and walking one. DBU will look for the sweep Sunday afternoon with Jordan Martinson on the mound. DBU sits alone at the top of the Missouri Valley Conference as the only team to win the first two games of their weekend series.

THREE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW
- With the win, DBU becomes the only team in the Missouri Valley Conference with a 2-0 record in the league.
- Jameson Hannah notched his second straight three-hit game.
- Jameson Hannah and David Martinelli have combined for 10 hits in the top two spots in the Patriot batting order this week.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
12 - Darick Hall hit his 12th home run of the year, matching Justin Wall's mark of 12 home runs that led the Patriots in 2015.
 1 – Illinois State had only one hit with men on base Saturday.
 6 – DBU had six hits in eleven chances with runners in scoring position.