THE RUNDOWN
No. 22 DBU bounced back to take game three versus Southeast Missouri, 13-5, Sunday at Horner Ballpark. The Pats swiped seven bags and totaled 14 hits to blow past the Redhawks and avoid their first sweep on opening weekend since 2013. Jacob Meador earned the win in his DBU debut with eight punchouts through five innings of work, and Cole Moore blasted two home runs on the day.
The Patriots (1-2) aggressively jumped out to a 4-0 lead and never looked back. DBU stole five bases in the first frame and had runners in scoring position early and often. A solo shot from Andrew Benefield answered a three-RBI jack from Cole Moore to give the Pats breathing room.
SEMO's (2-1) Lincoln Andrews homered to make it a 4-1 ballgame in the second, but Moore responded with a two-run big fly just one inning later. In the fifth, Jace Grady launched his first double of the day and scored on a two-run double from Blayne Jones.
After struggling to muster offense in the late innings for most of the series, DBU posted a pair of runs in the sixth and seventh to overcome a three-spot from the Redhawks. A two-RBI single from Miguel Santos in the sixth and RBI from Jaxon Holder and Blayne Jones in the seventh helped the Patriots pour it on, 12-4.
The Redhawks threatened one final time in the eighth. After a series of walks helped load the bases, Alec Baker stepped onto the mound and controlled the damage as SEMO would sneak in just one more score.
The fireworks ended with a solo shot from freshman Nate Rombach in the bottom of the inning.
HEAD COACH DAN HEEFNER ON AGGRESSION ON THE BASES
"I think Coach Pennington has done a great job with our base runners and what he's taught them to look for and how to be aggressive... Pushing the envelope on the bases put pressure on them, and our guys were able to take advantage.":
THREE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW
-DBU's seven stolen bases are tied for the most in the Division I era.
-DBU improves to 4-2 all-time versus SEMO.
-Three Patriots stole two bases on the day.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
1 - Cole Moore earned the first multi-homer game of his career.
6 - Six Patriots tallied at least two hits on the day.
800 - Sunday's game was Dan Heefner's 800th as head coach at DBU.
UP NEXT
The Patriots travel to Lubbock to face Texas Tech on Tuesday.
