THE RUNDOWN
No. 17 DBU came out of Waco, Texas, with an impressive 8-5 win over the Baylor Bears on Tuesday night at Baylor Ballpark. A three-run third and seventh inning proved to be pivotal in the Patriots' eleventh victory of the 2024 season.
 
DBU put the first run on the scoreboard in the third inning, when Miguel Santos singled up the middle to bring home Alex Pendergast for a 1-0 lead. In the following at-bat, Grant Jay picked up right where he left off from the Frisco Classic, by sending a two-run moonshot over the left-center field wall and giving the visitors a three-run advantage going into the bottom of the inning.
 
Baylor responded in the bottom of the third by scoring on a wild pitch, but DBU's Charlie Atkinson minimized the damage with a strikeout to finish off the Bears' attack.
 
Utilizing damage control once again, the Patriots faced the Bears with the bases loaded in the fourth and came out of the inning allowing just one run on a walk to maintain the lead.
 
DBU was able to extend the lead in the sixth with a big-time RBI double from Nathan Humphreys to make it a 4-2 ballgame.
 
It was the next inning when the Patriots started to press on the gas, starting with an RBI single from Santos to start the inning. Next, Michael Dattalo reached on a fielder's choice to score another run. Closing out the inning, Chayton Krauss hit a single to center field, giving DBU a commanding 7-2 lead.
 
The Bears would not go down lightly, however, scoring in the bottom of the inning on a throwing error and again in the eight on a sacrifice fly to left field.
 
In between the two runs, Tom Poole crushed a solo home run over the right field wall to give DBU its eighth run of the contest.
 
On the mound, Luke Pettitte got his first career start, pitching 2.0 innings, allowing just one hit, and registering one strikeout. After his exit, four other Patriots would step on the mound, all pitching 1.1 innings or less. The standout was Connor Benge who earned the win after striking out four out of the five batters he faced.
 
To close out the game, Jerrod Jenkins pitched the final three innings, allowing two earned runs, including one in the ninth, and registering five strikeouts to close out Baylor and leave Waco with an 8-5 victory.
 
THREE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW
- DBU won their first true road game of the season.
- Jerrod Jenkins earned his first career save.
- The Patriots have won four out of the last five meetings with the Bears.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
7 – Grant Jay has hit a team-high 7 home runs through twelve games this season.
4 – DBU pitchers only allowed four Baylor hits on Tuesday night.
13 – The Patriots' pitching staff recorded 13 strikeouts in nine innings.
 
UP NEXT
DBU Baseball returns home to face San Diego in a three-game weekend series. First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 pm on Friday.
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