THE RUNDOWN
DBU (34-20-1) edged Bradley by a score of 4-3 late Thursday night in the opening round of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament.
Blayne Jones played the hero with an RBI single in the eighth inning, and
Zane Russell struck out the side in the ninth to earn the win. The Pats now face Evansville on Friday night, and Bradley (20-28) will look to stave off elimination against Missouri State.Â
DBU put Bradley (20-28) on the ropes numerous times throughout the ballgame but couldn't muster the big blow. Patriot pitchers tossed 16 strikeouts, while the offense tied the single-game record with 14 walks. But the Braves continuously put out fires of their own creation through the first seven innings.Â
The Patriots took the lead for the third and final time in the eighth frame.
Jace Grady singled to left field to open the inning and advanced to second on a walk issued to
Cole Moore. With two outs and runners on first and second,
Blayne Jones lined a single to left-center to bring home Grady.Â
Clinging to a 4-3 lead in the top of the ninth, Russell fought through a walk and a base hit to strike out the side and slam the door shut on the Braves.Â
DBU struck first in the second inning.
George Specht drew a walk and came home to score on a
Miguel Santos two-out double lined to right-center field.Â
Bradley answered with a solo shot in the fifth inning that started the game over at 1-1. However, the Pats refused to go away.
Cole Moore and
Andrew Benefield both boarded on walks and were driven home on a two-run single by
George Specht in the bottom of the frame.Â
Bradley's Carson Husmann tied the game at 3-3 on a two-run blast in the sixth before DBU took over in the late innings.Â
THREE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOWÂ
- DBU improves to 26-7 all-time in the MVC Tournament.Â
-
Bubba Hall struck out eight and surrendered just one run in his 4.2 inning start.Â
- The 16 strikeouts tossed by the Patriot pitching staff are the second-most this season.Â
INSIDE THE NUMBERSÂ
14 - DBU tied a single-game school record with 14 walks.
4 - All four of DBU's runs were scored in two-out situations.
17 -
Ryan Wrobleski's career-high hit streak ends at 17 games.Â
ON DECK
DBU squares off versus Evansville tomorrow at 7:02 p.m.
Reagan Ratcliff and
Brendan Smith will be on the call for all the live play-by-play action on the Patriot Broadcasting Network. Video coverage will be available on ESPN+.Â
