THE RUNDOWN
DBU (14-7) won for the fifth straight time, taking down No. 20 Maryland 8-3 Friday at Horner Ballpark. The Patriots overcame an early 2-0 deficit and never looked back, out-hitting the Terrapins 12-5, crushing four doubles and three home runs to take the first-ever meeting versus Maryland (17-4). 

Jacob Meador improved to 5-0 on the season. The sophomore turned a rocky start into a rock-solid performance, recovering from a two-run first frame for six punchouts in 6.0 innings of work. Offensively, Jace Grady and Blayne Jones led the way with three hits apiece in a complete performance that handed Maryland its biggest loss of the season. 

The Terps struck first in game one of the weekend series. A hit batter sandwiched between a pair of walks loaded the bases for Maryland when a two-run single  placed the Patriots on the wrong end of a 2-0 scoreboard. However, Blayne Jones would cut the Maryland lead in half when he blasted the first pitch he saw over the wall in left field to make it a 2-1 ballgame. 

The Patriots would outscore the Terps 7-1 after the first inning to cruise to a comfortable win. After a scoreless second for both sides, Nate Rombach got the bats moving again in the third with a double down the right-field line. Rombach then came home on an RBI single from Jace Grady that dropped into centerfield to tie the game at 2-2. A Cole Moore groundout would drive in Grady as the Patriots took the lead for the first and final time. 

DBU's two-run second inning was followed by a three-spot in the fifth frame. The Patriots took advantage of runners in scoring position and one out in an inning that blew the game open. Andrew Benefied lined into center field for a two-run single that scored Grady and Moore, who reached on a leadoff single and an error. George Specht's second hit of the day would go for extra bases, as he lined a two-bagger down the left-field line to score Benefield for a 6-2 advantage. 

Brady Rose stepped onto the bump in relief of Meador in the seventh inning. The lefty continued to silence the Maryland bats with two quick punchouts in a 1-2-3 frame. Then, in the bottom of the seventh, Luke Heefner snuck one out of the yard in right-center field for a solo shot that escaped the grasp of two outstretched Terrapins. 

A Blayne Jones RBI double and a late two-bagger by Maryland capped off the action as fireworks erupted over Horner Ballpark to celebrate Alumni Night. 

THREE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW 
-DBU gets its first win over a top 25 opponent this season. 
-Ryan Wrobleski made his season debut in the eighth inning. 
-The Patriots snapped the Terps' four-game win streak and saddled Nick Dean with his first loss of the year. 

INSIDE THE NUMBERS 
1 - Luke Heefner blasted his first home run out of Horner Ballpark
3 - Jace Grady's three-hit day set a new season high.
1 - The Patriots held the Terrapins to one extra-base hit. 

COACH DAN HEEFNER  ON JACOB MEADOR 
"He really settled in. Jacob Meador's number one trait is that he's a great competitor. So when he gave up two runs in the first, you could tell he didn't like that very much, and he settled in and started being himself."

ON THE OFFENSE 
It's a 1-9 mentality. Andrew Benefield has had great at-bats for us for over a week now. Jace Grady squared it up three times and really looked like himself with his direction. To have Vallee [Mathieu Vallee] back and get Wrobleski [Ryan Wrobleski] an at-bat tonight makes this start to feel more like our usual offense."



ON DECK 
The Patriots will look to win the series in game two tomorrow at 2:00 p.m. 
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