THE RUNDOWN
Ethan Mann's three home runs led the charge for DBU (19-9, 6-3) on Sunday as the Patriots downed Louisiana Tech (14-14, 4-5), 9-1. With the win over the Bulldogs, DBU has taken six of seven weekend series this season.
 
After the first two batters of the game failed to reach base, Nate Rombach and Noah Boughton both singled to set up Ethan Mann for a three-run shot to open scoring.
 
Mann hit his second homer of the day to lead off the fourth inning for the Patriots, but Louisiana Tech answered with their first run on a Walker Burchfield RBI single.
 
Up, 4-1, through six, DBU tacked on insurance runs in each of the last three innings, including two sacrifice flies by Rombach, an RBI single by George Specht, and the last of three round-trippers by Mann in the top of the ninth.
 
In his first weekend start of the season, Zach Heaton had an outstanding showing. The redshirt senior threw four innings of one-run baseball, striking out three Bulldogs and walking none.
 
Heaton's performance on the bump was topped only by his teammate, Bryson Hammer, who held Louisiana Tech to one hit and no runs in five innings of work.
 
THREE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW
- Ethan Mann's four hits, three home runs, four runs scored, and six RBI were all personal season-highs.
- Sunday was the sixth time this season that DBU held its opponent to one run or less.
- In two starts this week, Zach Heaton allowed just one run over 9.0 innings of work.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
0 - Zach Heaton and Bryson Hammer did not give up an extra-base hit on Sunday.
3 - Ethan Mann's three-home run game was the first time a Patriot accomplished the feat since Miguel Santos did it last season against Indiana State.
8 - Both teams struck out eight batters respectively.
 
DAN HEEFNER ON ETHAN MANN'S PERFORMANCE
"He had a great day for us, and the biggest [home run] was that first one to put us on top.… We didn't think the ball was going to carry today like it did yesterday, so he got that one really good to get it out in center with the way the park was playing. He had great at-bats all day long—literally went foul pole to foul pole and one to center. He was really good for us."
 
UP NEXT
The Patriots finish this four-game road stretch in Huntsville, Texas. They will face the Sam Houston Bearkats at 6:30 pm on Tuesday.
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