THE RUNDOWN
Two timely three-run homers by Ethan Mann and Grant Jay were not enough on Thursday night, as No. 14 DBU (40-13, 23-5) fell to WKU (31-22, 16-12) at Horner Ballpark. The top batters in the Patriots' lineup accounted for all of the team's hits.
 
Both starting pitchers kept their respective opposing offensive at bay through the first three innings. WKU's Kirk Liebert was responsible for the lone hit through the first 18 outs, a single to right field.
 
The Hilltoppers broke through in the fourth with four runs on as many hits, three of which went for extra bases.
 
In the home half of the frame, Jace Grady, Kodie Kolden, and Nathan Humphreys registered three consecutive singles to score Grady and place runners on first and second for Ethan Mann. Mann turned the trio of hits into four straight when he sent the first pitch he saw over the left field fence to tie the game at four runs apiece.
 
WKU responded with a total of five runs over the fifth and sixth innings, but Humphreys and Mann reached base in the bottom of the sixth to set up Grant Jay for a three-run shot of his own to narrow the margin to 9-7.
 
Ty Batusich recorded a two-run homer in the next half-inning, putting DBU in a four-run deficit that it was unable to overcome.
 
THREE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW
- Thursday was only the fifth loss at home for the Patriots.
- DBU is now 11-3 in series openers this season.
- Nathan Humphreys (2-4, 2 R, RBI, SB) extended his hit streak to nine games. He has recorded a multi-hit game in seven of those nine contests.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
2 - The Patriots need just two more home runs to become the second team in the country to hit 100 homers and steal 100 bags.
19 - Grant Jay's sixth-inning round-tripper puts him in sole possession of sixth place for the most home runs in a season in program history.
105 - With five strikeouts on Thursday, Ryan Johnson is only five punchouts away from tying his brother, MD Johnson, for the third-most strikeouts in a season by a Patriot.
 
UP NEXT
To avoid possible inclement weather, game two of this series has been moved from 6:00 pm to 2:00 pm tomorrow at Horner Ballpark. Read Full Article