THE RUNDOWN
No. 11 DBU (43-13, 25-5) had an explosive start to its Conference USA Tournament with a 13-2 trouncing of Rice (21-36, 9-21) at Reckling Park on Wednesday. Ethan Mann led the Patriot offensive charge, going 4-for-4 with two home runs, six RBI, and three runs scored.
 
Jace Grady worked a walk to lead off the bottom of the first and initiate what would be a big game for the DBU offense. The next three batters, Kodie Kolden, Nathan Humphreys, and Ethan Mann each singled in succession for a three-run first inning.
 
Rice advanced runners to second and third with one out in the top of the second. First baseman Drew Holderbach then used a productive groundout to score the Owls' first run.
 
Holderbach's teammate, Connor Walsh, added a solo home run in the third to narrow the margin to 3-2.
 
Just as Rice was climbing back into the game, the Patriots stretched their lead. In the home half of the third, With a Grant Jay double moving himself and Mann to second and third respectively, a wild pitch allowed Jay to cross the plate for DBU's fourth run. Two batters later, Tom Poole drove in Mann on a sacrifice fly to left field, and George Specht subsequently hit his first career triple to score Miguel Santos, who had walked earlier, for the Patriots' second three-run frame of the evening.
 
Up, 6-2, in the fourth, Grady and Kolden set up Humphreys for an RBI double that was followed by a three-run shot courtesy of Mann.
 
As Ryan Johnson held Rice to only two runs through five innings, his offense poured on an additional trio of tallies via back-to-back home runs off the bats of Mann and Jay for a 13-2 cushion.
 
Jaron DeBerry subbed in for Johnson in the sixth and picked up where his predecessor left off, throwing two innings of one-hit baseball to force a run-rule victory for his squad.
 
THREE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW
- DBU has won its first game of a conference tournament four consecutive seasons.
- The Patriots' three through six batters (Nathan Humphreys, Ethan Mann, Grant Jay, and Miguel Santos) each had multi-hit games.
- For the 12th time this year, DBU stole at least four bases in a game.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
103 - DBU surpassed the 2009 squad's single-season home run record on Wednesday with 103 long shots on the year.
20 - Grant Jay joins Jackson Glenn (2021), Austin Listi (2017), and Darick Hall (2016) as the only Patriots to hit 20 home runs in a season since 2013.
74 - Ethan Mann has accumulated 74 RBI, tying him with Jason Krizan's 2009 campaign for the program's third-most RBI in a season.
 
DAN HEEFNER ON THE PATRIOTS' OFFENSIVE ATTACK
"Up and down the order, everybody was having great at-bats. We knew we had our work cut out for us. [Rice starting pitcher] Parker Smith is one of the best pitchers in our league, so we had to have a really good game plan against him. I thought our guys executed it well.… I think those three runs in the first inning… really set the tone for us. Jace Grady… had a great walk… to start the game off. I think that started it for everybody, that we're going to have quality at-bats, just win one pitch at a time."
 
UP NEXT
DBU faces the winner of the game between Western Kentucky and Florida Atlantic on Thursday at 7:30 pm.
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