THE RUNDOWN
The No. 16 Patriots dropped game two to Bradley 5-3 Friday at Dozer Park. In a pivotal ballgame where runs were at a premium for most of the day, big performances from Jace Grady and Luke Eldred looked to make the difference. Grady put together another multi-hit outing highlighted by an inside-the-park home run in the fifth inning. While Luke Eldred started on the mound, surrendering just one run and only walking two in 6.0 innings pitched. But the Braves homered twice in the eighth inning to erase DBU's 3-1 lead and take a series from the Patriots for the first time since 2016.

Squandered opportunities in the sixth and seventh innings came back to bite the Patriots late in the game. With runners on first and second in the eighth, Chandler Arnold relieved Bubba Hall in search of his ninth save of the year. But Carson Husmann blasted the first pitch he saw out to right field for a three-run shot that gave Bradley the lead. The Braves (11-17,3-2) quickly added an insurance run when the very next batter, Connor Manthey, left the yard on a 1-0 offering that made it a 5-3 contest. 

In the ninth, Jace Grady and Cole Moore reached on walks that gave DBU one last shot at a rubber match. But they would become the 10th and 11th runners left on base after a groundout ended the game. The comeback win by Bradley hands DBU (22-12, 3-2) their first series loss in conference play, and the Patriots will look to salvage game three on Saturday.

After two scoreless frames for both sides, the Patriots took the lead on a pair of unearned runs. Jarrett McDonald singled to right field before moving over to second on a base hit by Grady. Andrew Benefield would generate the first runs of the day when he sent a chopper over to third base that was mishandled and allowed McDonald and Grady to score. 

Back-to-back base hits spelled danger for the Patriots in the home half of the third. Connor O'Brien put Bradley on the board with an RBI single up the middle that cut the lead in half. But with two outs Luke Heefner made a backhanded grab behind third base and his dive to the bag beat the runner to protect DBU's 2-1 lead. 

Eldred continued to improve as the game progressed. After surrendering a run in the third inning, he retired the next 10 Braves he faced, buying time for the offense to strike for an insurance run. 

With two away in the fifth, Grady lined into right field and came all the way home on a 2-2 offering that escaped the Bradley's right fielder Michael Mylott. However, the inside-the-park shot would prove to be DBU's last run of the ballgame.

The Patriots looked poised to add on to their 3-1 lead in the sixth inning. Cole Moore singled into right field to open the inning and Ryan Wrobleski walked to put pressure on starting pitcher Matt Hamilton. The Braves then went to the bullpen for Nick King, who put away the next three batters he faced and escaped a bases-loaded jam in the seventh to set Bradley up for the comeback win. 

THREE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW 
-DBU drops to 3-2 in Missouri Valley Conference Play. 
-Jace Grady has gone 6-9 with six hits, a double, and a home run against the Braves. 
-The Patriots fall to 4-4 in games after a loss. 

INSIDE THE NUMBERS 
6 - Bradley has homered six times in the first two games
8 - The Patriots left eight runners in scoring position and stranded 11 total.
11 -  Nate Rombach extends his career-high hit streak to 11 games.

ON DECK 
The three-game series between DBU and Bradley concludes on Saturday, April 16. 

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