THE RUNDOWN
No. 24 DBU Baseball experienced an offensive masterpiece in their 16-7 win versus Central Michigan on Saturday afternoon at Horner Ballpark. The Patriots scored a combined 15 runs in the third, fourth, and fifth innings to secure the series win over the Chippewas.
 
Throughout most of the first three innings, The Chippewas kept the Patriots' offense in check with solid starting pitching from Trey Miller, who allowed only one hit through 2.1 innings.
 
With one out in the bottom of the third, Alex Pendergast sparked life into the DBU offense with a massive triple, scoring both Michael Dattalo and Keaton Grady to give the Patriots a 2-0 lead.
 
Sparked by the momentum, Nathan Humphreys dinged a double into right field to bring home Pendergast. Joining in on the fun was Grant Jay, who also doubled into right, scoring Humphreys as well as Ethan Mann to put DBU up 5-0.
 
The Patriots continued to produce runs in the electric third inning, adding two more after Miguel Santos scored Jay on a groundout and Dattalo's RBI single allowed Chayton Krauss to reach home.
 
Central Michigan would respond in the fourth, with RBI singles from Jacob Donahue and Nick Dardas to cut the deficit to 7-2.
 
DBU refused to ease off the gas in the bottom of the inning, with Humphreys' second RBI double of the game adding another run for the home team. Shortly after, Jay would reach base on a missed ball in left field to bring in Humphreys for another run.
 
Closing out the fourth, Krauss slammed his first homer as a Patriot, a three-run bomb to extend the lead to 12-2. Next up it was Santos' turn to launch a three-run blast, continuing his hot streak to start 2024.
 
The Chippewas put together their second two-run inning of the afternoon in the sixth, narrowing the deficit to 15-4 on a solo home run and a single into right center.
 
Jaron DeBerry earned his first win of the season, pitching 5.0 innings, allowing four hits and recording six strikeouts. First out of the bullpen was Jerrod Jenkins, who finished with 2.0 innings pitched, two earned runs, and one strikeout.
 
In his first action of the year, Joey Nerat launched a solo homer over the center field wall to give the Patriots their 16th run of the ballgame.
 
Closing out the game for the Patriots was Dillon Haines, who closed out the final 1.2 innings of the contest, allowing two earned runs, and notching one strikeout to close out the Patriots' 16-7 series-clinching win.
 
THREE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW
- DBU is one win away from matching their 7-0 start to last year's season.
- The Patriots' offense scored a season-high 16 runs on Saturday afternoon
- Joey Nerat hit a solo home run on his first swing of the 2024 season.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
4 – Miguel Santos has homered in each of his last 4 games.
15 – DBU baserunners are a perfect 15 out of 15 when stealing bases this season.
9 – Nine of the Patriots' hits went for extra bases.
 
UP NEXT
DBU Baseball looks to end their series versus Central Michigan with a sweep on Sunday with a 12:00 pm first pitch at Horner Ballpark.
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