THE RUNDOWN
DBU Baseball shutout Sam Houston, 2-0, on a frigid Friday afternoon in Dallas, Texas. Sacrifice flies in the second and fourth innings, and a strong day on the hill from Patriot pitchers lifted DBU to a win over the Bearkats.
Luke Eldred earned his first win of the 2022 season, working six innings of shutdown baseball to put DBU (2-3) in the driver's seat of the three-game series.
Cole Moore's sixth hit of the year was a two-bagger in the second inning that put the go-ahead run within reach. Moments later, a shot from
George Specht threatened to leave the ballpark but proved deep enough to bring home Moore for the first run of the game.
The Pats attacked again in the fourth. A leadoff single from
Jace Grady followed by back-to-back walks from
Andrew Benefield and Moore set the table for DBU's next run.
Miguel Santos continued his hot start to the season when he delivered a 1-1 pitch into center field to score Grady.
Eldred found his rhythm on the hill as the game progressed. The redshirt senior conceded just three hits on the day through the first six innings of his shutout win.
Ryan Johnson would enter in relief of Eldred and be the last pitcher the Pats would need to close out the game. The freshman right-hander carded four punchouts in the final three frames to shut the door on the Bearkats.
THREE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW
-DBU improves to 13-12 versus Sam Houston in the Division I era.
-The Patriots get their first shutout of the year.
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Ryan Johnson earns his first career save.
COACH DAN HEEFNER ON THE WIN
"Luke and Ryan made the adjustments we needed today. It's great to have a guy like Luke who can set the tempo and change things up... I thought George did a great job with two strikes to score that first run. Two opportunities with a guy on third with less than two outs, and we were able to get them in, that's what you have to do on a day like today."
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
12 -
Luke Eldred earns the 12th win of his career.
5 -
Cole Moore has recorded a hit in five straight games.
3 - DBU played their third error-free game of the season.
UP NEXT
Game two between the Patriots and Bearkats is set for Saturday at 2:00 p.m.
