THE RUNDOWN
No. 17 DBU (4-1) opened an adjusted weekend series against SIU Edwardsville (2-2) with a runaway 14-2 victory. Micah Bucknam shined on the mound, striking out 10 batters in five innings while allowing only two runs and three hits.
 
The Patriots got to work quickly in the opening frame as five of their first six batters reached base. A Chayton Krauss single brought Nathan Humphreys and Tom Poole home for the game's first tallies. With the bases loaded, two errors by SIUE allowed Krauss and Grant Jay to come across, and three straight hits courtesy of Luke Heefner, Humphreys, and Michael Dattalo completed an eight-run first for DBU.
 
In the second, Joey Nerat tacked on an additional run by driving in Grant Jay on a single through the middle for a 9-0 Patriot lead.
 
On the mound, Micah Bucknam kept the Cougars off the board until the fourth when a bases-load walk and a sacrifice fly gave SIUE their first two runs of the afternoon. He would finish the day with a career-high 10 strikeouts while giving up only two runs and three hits.
 
With a 9-2 advantage, DBU put the game away in the home half of the fourth. Humphreys walked in the Patriots' 10th run of the contest on a bases-load walk, and Dattalo shoved another across on a sacrifice fly to drive in Landon Underhill. Tom Poole then put an exclamation point on the game with a three-run shot to right field that would prove to be the game's final scoring play.
 
Ashton Branson picked up where Bucknam left off in the sixth inning. In his two frames of work, the junior righty kept SIUE off the scoreboard while punching out five Cougars and surrendering only one hit to close out a dominant run-rule victory for the Patriots.
 
THREE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW
- Micah Bucknam's 10 strikeouts are the most by a DBU pitcher in a game this season.
- Each of the Patriot offensive starters reached base on Saturday afternoon.
- DBU pitching allowed only two Cougars to record a hit.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
8 - The Patriots' eight runs in the first inning are the most they've scored in any inning this season.
12 - DBU's 12 hits on Saturday give the squad three games with at least 12 hits through five games.
15 - The Patriots' 15 strikeouts are tied for their most in a game this season.
 
UP NEXT
DBU will play the second game of Saturday's doubleheader at 4:00 p.m. Read Full Article