THE RUNDOWN
Defense ruled the day as DBU (16-7, 4-1) pulled out a 4-2 win over Charlotte (9-13, 2-3) to claim the conference series on the road. Braxton Bragg shutdown the 49ers offense, throwing 6.0 shutout innings while a three-run homer from Ethan Mann and a career-high three-stolen bases by Nathan Humphreys paced the Patriot offense.
 
DBU's offense found a rhythm in a hurry to open play as three of the first four batters reached base. Nate Rombach pushed the first run across for DBU on an RBI single to left field only to be topped by teammate Ethan Mann who slammed a three-run home run in the next at-bat, giving DBU an early 4-0 lead.
 
From there, pitching took over for both squads. For Charlotte, Sam Conte and Andrew Spolyar kept the Patriots scoreless for the next 5.1 innings while Braxton Bragg dominated for DBU, prohibiting any 49er from crossing home plate and punching out seven in six innings of work.
 
The streak of zeros on the board was finally ended by Charlotte's Cam Fisher, who hit his second two-run shot of the weekend in the eighth to decrease the DBU advantage to a pair entering the final frame.
 
In the bottom of the ninth, Kyle Amendt used two strikeouts to shut the door on the 49ers and earn his conference-best fifth save.
 
THREE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW
- Saturday was the second time in 2023 that DBU won when scoring in only one inning (March 10 vs. Oral Roberts).
- DBU improves to 10-2 in games where they score first.
- Ethan Mann is now tied with Grant Jay for the team lead in home runs with five.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
5 - DBU stole at least five bases for the fifth time this season.
7 - Braxton Bragg struck out seven or more opposing hitters for the fourth time in 2023.
15 - Going back to Friday, the Patriots held the 49ers scoreless for 15 consecutive innings, DBU's longest stretch of the year without surrendering a run.
 
UP NEXT
The series finale of the Patriot's first Conference USA road series is tomorrow with a 12:00 pm CT start time.
  Read Full Article