THE LEAD
DBU completed their fourth series sweep of the season with a 7-3 win over Bradley on Sunday afternoon at Horner Ballpark. Austin Listi went 2-for-2 with a two-run homerun in the opening frame and reached base in all four at-bats to lead the Patriot offense.
 
MD Johnson (4-2) earned the win with six strikeouts in six innings of work, allowing two runs on five hits, to earn the win. Alex Gray (0-4) suffered the loss after giving up four runs on five hits in his five-inning outing.
 
For the first time in the series, DBU jumped on top first behind a two-run blast from Listi over the wall in right-center to go ahead 2-0. Bradley cut the lead in half in the top of the fourth on an Andrew Ivelia RBI single, and evened the score in the following inning as Ian Kristan scored on a pinch hit sac bunt laid down by J.F. Garon. The Patriots regained a two-run advantage in the bottom of the fifth on a two-run homerun from Devlin Granberg and extended the lead to 7-2 in the sixth with a three-run inning, highlighted by a two-run Tim Millard blast.
 
Dalton Higgins took over on the mound for Johnson to begin the seventh, making his 24^th appearance, which is tied for Travis Stone for most on the squad. After a scoreless inning of work, Higgins handed pitching duties over to Gavin Fritz, who struck out two in a 1-2-3 eighth. Closer Seth Elledge came on for the final inning to close out the Braves, but gave up one run on an RBI double from Nick Green before retiring the final two batters to end the game.
 
THREE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW
 - MD Johnson is 4-0 with a 2.22 ERA and 23 strikeouts and three walks across 24 1/3 innings pitched in his last four starts.
 - All four series' that DBU has swept this season have come at Horner Ballpark.
 - Gavin Fritz has allowed just two hits in his last 6 2/3 innings pitched.

COACH DAN HEEFNER - ON MD JOHNSON'S IMPROVEMENTS
"He has looked great. Ever since the middle of the year, he's pitched really well for us. He makes good adjustments out there. I think the big thing too is his pitches. He's got great stuff, but when he's out there, he's thinking and pitching and making adjustments during the game and from game to game. It feels really good to have him on a Sunday, so if a series is tied up 1-1 or up 2-0 and going for a sweep and you have MD going out there, you feel pretty good about it."

MD JOHNSON - ON HIS MINDSET WHEN ALLOWING BASERUNNERS
"I just try to get through the inning. Coach Heefner talks to us before every game about what we go through in our minds each and every game, and the big one for me is to finish every inning I start. If runners get on, I just have to push through and get through the inning." 
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
20 – Sunday marks the 20^th game this season that DBU's pitching staff recorded double-digit strikeouts.
6 – Six different Patriots crossed home plate in the victory.
22 – Listi has reached base safely in 22 straight games.
 
UP NEXT
DBU hosts Abilene Christian in their home finale at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday at Horner Ballpark.