THE LEAD
DBU dropped their fifth straight ballgame, falling to No. 3 TCU, 9-3, on Tuesday night at Horner Ballpark. Austen Wade and Elliott Barzilli each went 1-for-4 with a pair of RBI for the Horned Frogs.
 
Mitchell Traver (2-0) earned the win with four innings of scoreless, one-hit work to start the game with five strikeouts. MD Johnson (0-2) suffered the loss after giving up three runs on three hits in 4.2 innings of work to go with four strikeouts.
 
Baker put TCU on the board first with a solo homerun in the top of the second. The long ball was the only hit allowed by Johnson through four innings, setting down three Horned Frogs on strikes. In the bottom of the fourth, Austin Listi spoiled Traver's no-hit bid with a two-out double down the third-base line. TCU extended their lead to 2-0 in the fifth after Nolan Brown led off the inning with a double off the left-field wall, stole third and scored on an Barzilli groundout. Following his fourth strikeout, Johnson was pulled in favor of Landon Wilson, who tossed the third wild pitch of the inning that allowed Ryan Merrill to cross home plate for a 3-0 advantage.
 
After Wilson allowed back-to-back base hits to lead off the sixth, Dan Heefner went to his bullpen again for Travis Stone, who fanned Baker for the first out of the inning. Gavin Fritz came in in relief for Stone and induced potential double-play ball, but Fritz failed to get his glove on Camden Duzenack's throw back to first, allowing Cam Warner to come home. DBU cut the deficit in half in the bottom of the sixth on a pair of groundballs that scored Logan Sepanek and Jameson Hannah. Dalton Higgins, who came on in the top of the seventh, walked back-to-back batters to load the bases, and forced another potential double-play ball that the Patriots failed to turn, allowing Merrill to score and make it 5-2. The Horned Frogs extended the lead to 6-2 on a sac fly off the bat of Skoug.
 
DBU threatened in the bottom of the seventh, loading the bases by way of a Hannah walk with two outs. Luke Stratman scored on a wild pitch, but the Patriots were unable to get another run across. TCU answered in the top of the eighth with three runs on a pair of RBI singles from Barzilli and Wade to blow the game open at 9-3. Dalton Brown and Durbin Feltman pitched two innings of scoreless baseball to close out the Patriots and clinch the season sweep.
 
THREE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW
 - DBU is 0-13 when trailing after six innings (trailed 5-2 after six tonight).
 - The two schools combined to go 6-for-6 with runners on third with two outs.
 - The Patriots went 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position.

COACH DAN HEEFNER - ON THE DIFFERENCE IN THE BALLGAME
"I think we did a good job in that sixth inning where we scored two, and Tim Millard had a great at-bat with guys on second and third. He did a good job there. We finally got a little bit of momentum going and then we went out and walked the bases loaded immediately after that and they scored two runs and the ball kind of rolled from there."
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
4 – TCU recorded four stolen bases on as many attempts.
32 – Duce has reached base safely in all 32 games this season.
7 – The loss snapped a seven-game winning streak at Horner Ballpark.
 
UP NEXT
DBU heads back on the road for a three-game series at Central Arkansas, beginning Thursday evening at 6 p.m.