THE RUNDOWN
An 11-run bottom of the eighth inning lifted No. 21 DBU to a 17-7 win over Missouri State as the Patriots completed a three-game sweep of the Bears on Sunday at Horner Ballpark. Trailing 7-6 going to the home half of the eighth, the Patriots 11-run inning was capped off by Ryan Wrobleski's second home run of the day which invoked the 10-run rule in conference play.

The rally began for DBU (21-10, 3-0) when they found themselves down 7-3 going to the bottom of the sixth. A two-run sixth and one run in the seventh set the stage for the Patriots offensive explosion in the eighth.

The day started with Ryan Johnson on the mound, as the freshman right-hander worked 4.0 shutout innings before running into trouble in the fifth.  Johnson was spotted a two-run lead in the second when Wrobleski connected on his first home run, a towering shot over the wall in left. 

In the fifth, Missouri State (14-13, 0-3) struck for four runs to take their first lead of the series.  Johnson would leave the game with four runs allowed in 5.0 innings of work and handed the ball to Kyle Rich in the sixth. With two out, the Bears rallied to score three runs and extend their lead to 7-3.

A pair of run-scoring singles from George Specht and Jace Grady in the bottom half of the sixth narrowed the MSU lead to two. Luke Heefner pulled DBU to within one in the seventh when he lined his third hit of the day, an RBI single into right.

After Bubba Hall worked 2.1 scoreless innings of relief, retiring all seven batters that he faced, the Patriot offense erupted in the eighth.  The 11-run rally began when Jace Grady was hit by the first pitch from Trey Zegenbein.  Andrew Benefield followed with a double and a Cole Moore single to right plated two runs to give DBU the lead.  Following a sacrifice fly by Luke Heefner that added another run, the next four Patriots reached safely including run-scoring doubles from George Specht and Jace Grady.

With two out and one on, Wrobleski blasted his second long ball of the day that cleared the fence in left-center, ending the game on the 10-run rule.
 
THREE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW
- With the series sweep, DBU has opened Missouri Valley Conference play with a series sweep for the sixth time since they joined the league in 2014.
- Missouri State suffers their first three game sweep to begin MVC play since 1998 when they were swept at Indiana State.
- With the win, DBU matches their longest win streak of the year at five.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
8 - Ryan Wrobleski went 8-for-12 in the series with two home runs, five doubles, and seven RBI.
7 - Seven Patriots had multi-RBI games in the win over Missouri State.
8 - Patriots registered multi-hit games today.


 
UP NEXT
DBU faces TCU on Tuesday night at Horner Ballpark. Tuesday's game will air live on Bally Sports Southwest and will also feature an audio only broadcast on the Patriot Broadcasting Network. First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.

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