THE RUNDOWN
No. 18 DBU (31-9, 15-3) picked up two wins on Saturday after taking the second game of a doubleheader from Louisiana Tech (20-21, 9-9). Ethan Mann and Grant Jay led the offensive charge for the Patriots, combining for seven of the team's eight RBI.
 
The Bulldogs worked methodically in the top of the first to seize their first lead of the weekend. Three hits and a sacrifice fly resulted in an early 3-0 advantage for Louisiana Tech.
 
In the next half-inning, Nate Rombach and Ethan Mann hit back-to-back doubles for the Patriots' first run.
 
The DBU bats found a rhythm in the bottom of the second as four straight hits turned the two-run deficit into a one-run lead for the Patriots.
 
After a tough start to his outing in the opening frame, Zach Heaton threw three innings of one-hit, scoreless baseball, and handed the baseball to Brady Rose in the fifth. The lefty struck out four of the eight batters he faced without surrendering a run in two innings.
 
In the fifth and sixth, three fielding errors by the Bulldogs helped four Patriot hits translate into five runs, stretching the deficit to 9-3.
 
With Zane Russell on the mound in the seventh, Louisiana Tech scored on a bases-loaded hit by pitch, but Alec Baker limited the damage to just two tallies in the frame, allowing only one inherited runner to cross the plate.
 
Grant Jay answered one of those runs with a solo shot in the home half of the seventh while Baker and Kyle Amendt combined for 2.2 shutout innings to seal the 10-5 victory for DBU. 
 
THREE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW
- DBU went 5-1 against Louisiana Tech this season, outscoring the Bulldogs, 55-22, in six games.
- The Patriots outhomered the Bulldogs, 14-5, in those six meetings.
- For the fifth time this year, Ethan Mann drove in at least four runs.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
5 - DBU hit five home runs in a weekend series for the fourth time this season.
10 - Patriot pitching has recorded at least 10 strikeouts in four consecutive games, one shy of matching its season-best streak (February 21-28).
14 - DBU extended its program-record win streak to 14 games with two wins on Saturday.
 
HEAD COACH DAN HEEFNER ON SATURDAY'S DOUBLEHEADER
"The doubleheader—this was great for us. This was another opportunity for us to really develop. Haven't had one yet this year. It's going to happen come postseason time. You're going to play multiple games in a short period of time. Really glad we were able to do this today, and I thought the guys responded well. I thought they had great energy all day long…. To have guys who can play multiple positions [Grant Jay, Kodie Kolden, Nate Rombach, George Specht], the depth of our pitching staff as well—the third game of a series to be able to run arms out like that—is pretty special."
 
UP NEXT
DBU drives to Fort Worth to face TCU on Tuesday. Game time is scheduled for 6:00 pm. Read Full Article