THE RUNDOWN
No. 15 DBU (38-12, 21-4) opened an important Conference USA series against No. 22 UTSA (36-13, 19-5) with an 11-7 win in San Antonio. A five-run fifth inning, including a George Specht grand slam, broke a 3-3 tie and put the Patriots out of reach of the Roadrunners.
 
UTSA was the first to score when Dalton Borter and Leyton Barry used back-to-back hits to put two runs on the board for the Roadrunners.
 
Down, 2-0, early, Jace Grady led off the third with a double, and two batters later, Nathan Humphreys walked to place runners on first and second with one out.
 
Ahead in the count, 1-0, Ethan Mann drove a fly ball over the left field fence of Roadrunner Field for a three-run, go-ahead homer for DBU.
 
An inning later, UTSA shoved a run across on an Antonio Valdez RBI single to tie the game at three.
 
In the top of the fifth, two singles and a walk loaded the bases for Kodie Kolden, who nudged a grounder into the infield, allowing Humphreys to use his speed to cross home plate for a 4-3 lead.
 
With two outs in the same frame, George Specht blew the game open when he homered to center field for a grand slam, extending the Patriot advantage to 8-3.
 
The Roadrunners employed a double and a sacrifice fly in the sixth to add two runs to their total, but those tallies were matched by DBU in the eight by way of a Grady RBI double and a Humphreys two-run shot.
 
The Patriots took an 11-5 lead into the ninth and fended off a two-run surge by UTSA to take the first game of Friday's doubleheader.
 
THREE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW
- The Patriots end a perfect conference home record for the Roadrunners.
- George Specht's fifth-inning grand slam was the third of his career.
- Jace Grady, Nathan Humphreys, Kodie Kolden, and Ethan Mann each had a multi-hit game.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
3 - Three different Patriots homered in the series opener (Nathan Humphreys, Ethan Mann, George Specht).
4 - Zane Russell has recorded at least four strikeouts in each of his last three appearances (8.0 innings total).
8 - Ryan Johnson has now struck out at least eight batters in eight of his 12 starts this season.
 
UP NEXT
Game two of the series between DBU and UTSA takes place at approximately 6:55 pm. Read Full Article