THE RUNDDOWN
DBU opened its weekend series at Valparaiso in dominant fashion Friday, taking down the Crusaders 8-1. Trevor Conn, making his first Friday start of the season, took advantage of an offensive explosion to pick up his sixth win.

The Patriots (26-13, 8-2 Missouri Valley Conference) jumped on Valpo early, taking the lead on a first-inning RBI double by Matt Duce. DBU extended the lead with a four-run rally in the second, thanks to RBI singles by Garrett Wolforth and Jameson Hannah, and a pair of errors by the Crusaders (14-22, 4-6 MVC).

Another RBI single by Hannah in the fourth and a sacrifice fly by Kody Funderburk in the fifth extended the Patriot lead to 7-0. Devlin Granberg's eight-inning RBI knock drove in DBU's final run of the afternoon.

Conn pitched seven scoreless innings, striking out three batters and walking just one with six hits allowed. Three of Valpo's hits came in the second inning, when Conn escaped a bases-loaded jam unscathed.

The Crusaders' lone run came in the eighth inning against Parker Towns, when an error, a double, and an RBI groundout led to an unearned tally to break up the shutout. Towns pitched around a leadoff double in the ninth to close out the Patriot win.

THREE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW
- The Patriots improved to 8-2 on Fridays in 2018.
- Conn's seven innings pitched tied a career high set on April 15 against Southern Illinois.
- Devlin Granberg was 4-for-5 batting leadoff for the first time all season.

COACH DAN HEEFNER ON THE PATRIOTS' FAST START
"There's two sides to getting it started. Obviously, on the offensive side, we want to score, but then there's also getting a great start on the mound, and Trevor did an outstanding job for us. He was in total control."

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
5 - DBU leadoff hitters were 5-9 Friday.
1 - Valpo's top five hitters, who all entered the game batting over .300, were 1-15 on the afternoon.
2:45 - Friday's series opener took only 2 hours and 45 minutes to complete.
 
 UP NEXT
DBU returns to the state of Indiana for the second straight weekend to face MVC newcomer Valparaiso.