THE RUNDOWN
The No. 14 Patriots (41-13, 24-5) tied a program record 41 wins with an 11-run effort against Western Kentucky in the second game of the series at Horner Ballpark. The game was played over two days due to a lightning delay on Friday afternoon.
Lukas Farris started the scoring with a two-run home run for the Hilltoppers in the top of the first.
Jace Grady answered quickly for the Patriots with a leadoff solo shot in the bottom of the inning, and his teammates joined the charge. The next batter,
Kodie Kolden, walked on four pitches, and
Nathan Humphreys and
Ethan Mann hit back-to-back doubles to take a 3-2 lead.
Grant Jay followed Mann's two-bagger with an RBI single, and
George Specht and
Alex Pendergast both singled to finish a five-run frame for DBU.
WKU narrowed the margin to 5-3 with three base hits in the fourth, but pinch hitter
Tom Poole smashed a homer driving in
Miguel Santos for the Patriots' seventh run of the afternoon.
However, those pair of runs were matched by another Hilltopper two-run four-bagger in the top of the sixth.
With the two outs in the inning and AJ Fiechter at the plate with a 2-0 count, a lightning delay suspended play.
Play resumed at approximately 12:50 pm on Saturday with Zane Rusell on the mound for DBU. He would go on to throw 3.0 innings of one-run baseball, punching out five batters and walking three.
A couple of wild pitches gave the Patriots two runs in the sixth, and DBU tacked on additional tallies in the seventh and eighth on a Kolden RBI single and a pitch that got away from WKU.
Down, 11-5, the Hilltoppers snuck a run across in the ninth, but
Cole Reeves closed the door for the Patriots' 41st win of the season.
THREE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW
- The victory means DBU avoids being swept in every conference series this year.
- Five different Patriots combined for seven stolen bases.
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Ethan Mann led the offensive charging for DBU, registering two doubles on 3-for-4 hitting with two RBI and two runs.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
3 -
Kodie Kolden tied his career high with three stolen bags.
41 - DBU's 41 wins tie the Division I program record for most wins in a regular season (2015).
100 - The Patriots are now only the second team in the country with both 100 home runs and 100 stolen bases.
UP NEXT
The regular season finale is the second game of a doubleheader on Saturday. First pitch is scheduled for approximately 2:30 pm.
