THE LEAD
DBU won the rubber match of the opening series with Louisiana-Monroe, 12-4, on Sunday afternoon at Horner Ballpark. Jameson Hannah went 2-for-4 with three RBI and three runs scored to fuel the high-scoring Patriot offense.
 
Dalton Higgins (1-0) earned the win for DBU after throwing two innings of relief for starting pitcher MD Johnson and allowing just one run on one hit to go with two strikeouts. Matthew Reaves (0-1) suffered the loss after giving up five runs on three hits in just 1/3 inning of work.
 
After Warhawks starter Chase Beal loaded the bases with no outs in the opening frame, he issued a walk to Jordan Hand to bring Hannah home, followed by a double-play ball off the bat of Camden Duzenack that scored Devlin Granberg to give DBU an early 2-0 lead. ULM got one back in the top of the second as Spencer Hemphill led off the inning with a double, advanced to third on a Cade Harper single and scored on a sac fly to left by Brian Barefoot. Garrett Wolforth answered Hemphill's leadoff double with one of his own, scoring two batters later on a triple to deep center by Hannah to make it 3-1. On the next at-bat, Granberg knocked in Hannah on a long double that was inches short of exiting the ballpark.
 
Nathan Reynolds continued the trend of leadoff doubles with a line drive to right-center before advancing 90-feet on a fly out to right field. Johnny DeLaCruz stepped to the plate and singled past Matt Duce to score Reynolds to cut the lead to 4-2. The Warhawks added a second in the third after an MD Johnson wild pitch moved runners to second and third, followed by a groundout that brought DeLaCruz home. Johnson redeemed himself with his third strikeout to end the inning. Higgins came in for relief of Johnson after he allowed a leadoff single, but Higgins made quick work of the next three hitters, setting down two on strikes.
 
ULM brought the score even in the top of the fifth inning as DeLaCruz reached on a bloop single to right, working his way around to third on a stolen base and a throwing error by Wolforth, and scoring on a Turner Francis groundout. DBU broke the tie in the bottom of the fifth after loading the bases via a walk of Granberg, Duce single, and throwing error by Anthony Herrera, setting up Austin Listi for a one-out grand slam over the left field wall to give the Patriots an 8-4 advantage. Stephen Morrison took over on the mound for Matt Reaves, who issued back-to-back walks to load the bases and bring Wolforth across the plate for a 9-4 Patriot lead.
 
Gavin Fritz came in for Higgins, tossing two hits of scoreless baseball with just one hit and two strikeouts to maintain the five-run advantage. In the bottom of the seventh, DBU reached double-digit runs for the second straight game on back-to-back ULM errors that allowed two runs to score. Fritz handed pitching duties over in the eighth to Eric White, who continued the Patriot bullpen's nine-inning streak without a run. The Patriots added one more in the eighth on an RBI triple by Camryn Williams, his first career hit. DBU's Preseason All-American closer, Seth Elledge, came in to close out the game with a perfect ninth and two set down on strikes.
 
THREE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW
 - DBU's catcher tandem of Matt Duce and Garrett Wolforth combined to hit 11-for-23 (.478) with three homeruns, four doubles and a triple with four RBI and eight runs scored.
 - Devlin Granberg and Camryn Williams eached picked up their first hits as Patriots.
 - DBU's bullpen did not allow a single earned run in 15 innings through the first three games. 

COACH DAN HEEFNER – ON THE OFFENSIVE EXPLOSION IN THE PAST TWO GAMES
"It was good to see especially after Friday night. It's a little bit of what we've seen all year from this team in the preseason. It's a group that's very physical and very offensive and they've done that a lot. Is that to say this is going to happen every game? Definitely not, but it is a lineup that can be very good 1-through-9 and can do some damage. We need to keep getting better and have ways to win close games and when the ball's not carrying like it is today."
 
AUSTIN LISTI – ON BOUNCING BACK FROM OPENING NIGHT
"I think the feeling after opening night was that we were kind of lacking. That was weird. That's not like us at all. It didn't even feel right. Better to get that done on opening day than later in the season. We knew we'd bounce back, no big deal."
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
21 – 21 of DBU's 32 hits went for extra bases in the opening series.
7 – The Patriots lineup combined for seven doubles in the win.
11 – DBU recorded 11 two-out RBI between the two victories in the opening series.
 
UP NEXT
DBU hits the road for Houston to take on No. 23 Rice on Tuesday night at 6:30 p.m.