THE LEAD
DBU used a six-homerun performance to defeat Louisiana-Monroe, 11-0, on Saturday afternoon at Horner Ballpark. Garrett Wolforth was responsible for two of the Patriots' long balls, finishing the day 2-for-5 with three RBI and two runs scored.
 
Starting pitcher Trevor Conn (1-0) earned the win with five scoreless innings tossed, three hits and three strikeouts. Warhawks starter Keegan Curtis suffered the loss after allowing nine runs on 11 hits in four innings of work to go with two strikeouts.
 
The Patriots struck first on two solo blasts from Wolforth and Logan Sepanek in the bottom of the second inning. Wolforth led off the inning with a shot over the wall in right center, followed by two groundouts before Sepanek sent one over the left-field wall. Wolforth hit another round-tripper in the bottom of the third inning with two outs to make it 5-0. Sepanek capped off a five-run third inning with an RBI two-bagger to left field to score Tim Millard. DBU continued the dominance in the fourth inning behind another pair of solo homeruns by Matt Duce and Camden Duzenack to extend the lead to 9-0.
 
In the bottom of the sixth inning, yet another Patriot touched all four as Jordan Hand took a Trey Auger changeup over the left-field wall with a projected distance of 436 feet, making it 11-0. Conn handed the ball over to safe hands, as Coby Weaver came in and pitched two innings of one-hit relief with two strikeouts. Kragen Kechely came in for the eighth and, after allowing a leadoff double, struck out Brian Barefoot and forced a double play to end the inning. Jimmy Fouse finished off the shutout performance by the DBU pitching staff with a scoreless ninth.
 
THREE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW
 - Conn's start was his first since April 14, 2015, after having Tommy John surgery.
 - After an impressive first outing on the mound yesterday, freshman Ray Gaither got his first base hit in his first at-bat in the eighth inning.
 - The win was the first shutout since a 3-0 win over Evansville in the 2015 Missouri Valley Conference Tournament.

COACH DAN HEEFNER – ON TREVOR CONN'S COMEBACK
"He was great. We saw that last week from him in the Pro Game. You never want a guy to have to have that surgery and sit out a year, but the few guys that have done that learn a lot from it and come back a lot better players. When you sit and have to watch for a year, it slows the game down a little bit for you and you see it like a coach would see it. It's like having a coach out on the field. He's a true pro how he goes about his business. He's the leader of the pitching staff from a work-ethic standpoint. To see him lead the way with his presence is going to make everyone else better."
 
GARRETT WOLFORTH - ON BOUNCING BACK FROM THE OPENING LOSS
"We really had a bad taste in our mouth. When its opening night you want to come out and put on a good show. We didn't do that yesterday, so the guys came back ready to work. We did a great job today."
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
0 – DBU's pitchers did not allow a single walk in the game.
8 – The Patriots combined for eight two-out RBI.
5 – Five of DBU's eight leadoff hitters got hits.
 
UP NEXT
DBU and ULM play the rubber match of the opening series at Noon on Sunday at Horner Ballpark. MD Johnson takes the mound for the Patriots against Chase Beal for the Warhawks.