THE RUNDOWN
Trailing, 5-1, after three innings, the DBU (18-9, 5-3 C-USA) bats erupted to defeat Louisiana Tech (14-13, 4-4 C-USA), 14-7. In his collegiate debut, Joey Nerat logged his first career hit, home run, and RBI on a sixth-inning home run to tie the game.
 
With zeros on the scoreboard through two innings, Jace Grady led off the third and came around to score on a Nathan Humphreys single for the game's first tally.
 
Louisiana Tech answered with a five spot in the bottom half of the frame, pushing across four of the five runs with two outs.
 
Down by four, the Patriots used a single, two walks, and a double in succession to narrow the gap to a pair of runs.
 
Both teams put a run on the board in the fifth to set the stage for a pivotal sixth inning.
 
Facing a 6-4 deficit, freshman Joey Nerat stepped to the plate with Jace Grady on first and one out. In search of his first career hit, Nerat sent a pitch to right-center to tie the game with a two-run homer. Two batters later, George Specht followed suit with a solo shot of his own to give DBU the advantage, 7-6.
 
The offense kept flowing for the Patriots in the seventh, as Luke Heefner slammed a home run of his own to extend the lead to three.
 
Jace Grady and Nate Rombach hopped on the home run bandwagon as part of a five-run ninth that put the game out of reach for the Bulldogs. Grady's blast was a grand slam that cleared the right centerfield wall while Rombach blasted a solo shot to left.
 
In relief of Braxton Bragg, Brady Rose kept Louisiana Tech at bay with possibly the best outing of his career. The junior threw 3.1 hitless innings along with six strikeouts and two walks.
 
THREE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW
- Jace Grady went 3-for-4 with two doubles and a grand slam. It was his first multi-hit game since March 7 against Baylor.
- All nine DBU starters recorded a hit.
- Brady Rose had career-highs in innings pitched (3.1), pitches thrown (57), and strikeouts (6) without surrendering a hit or a run.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
5 - The Patriots belted five home runs in a game for the third time this season. It is the first time since 2018 that DBU has had three games of five home runs or more.
6 - Both teams left 6 men on base.
14 - DBU's 14 hits were the most in a game since March 18 versus Florida International.
 
UP NEXT
The rubber match of this series takes place tomorrow at 12:00 pm.
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