THE RUNDOWN
Lightning struck twice for the Patriots on Saturday as they walked off Illinois State in both games of the double header. DBU (28-11) scored five unanswered to win the second game, 6-3, capped off by an Austin Bell walk-off blast.

The Redbirds scored all three of their runs in the first inning, getting four hits against starter Kyle Rich. The Pats responded behind a Bell RBI single into right field in the second inning, but the Redbirds would hold DBU silent for the next two frames.

In the bottom of the fifth, the Pats were trailing 3-1 when Andres Sosa and Austin Bell both launched home runs to tie the game. Sosa had just walked off the Redbirds in game two with a grand slam and added his fifth home run in the last four games.

The ballgame remained tied until the bottom of the seventh, when Bell stepped up with runners on the corners. On a 3-2 fastball, Bell launched the second blast of the day to take the series and sweep the double header.

THREE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW
- The Patriots have now secured their first four MVC series with the wins today.
- Jared Pettitte earned his first win as a Patriot by going 4.1 innings out of the pen. Pettitte was sensational, striking out four and not allowing a single hit.
- The Pats will go for the sweep of the Redbirds in the Sunday finale.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
4 – Andres Sosa has hit five HRs in the last four games for a DBU offense that refuses to stop scoring.
5 – Bell's five RBI in a single game is a season high for the senior.
10 – The Patriots totaled 10 hits in game two against the Redbirds.

DAN HEEFNER ON THE SECOND WIN:
" I thought they did a super job. Jared [Pettitte] did a great job today, he was just on. We just chipped away and hung on and finally made an adjustment in the fourth there. It was great to see Austin get one to end it."

UP NEXT
DBU and Illinois State play the series finale tomorrow afternoon. First pitch is scheduled for 1pm.