THE RUNDOWN
No. 13 DBU (39-14, 21-6 CUSA) began its journey in the Conference USA Tournament with a gutsy win against Liberty (30-26, 10-17 CUSA). Ryan Borberg was dominant on the mound, and doubles in the late innings by Nathan Humphreys and Cody Grebeck propelled the Patriots to the first round win.
 
After DBU starter Ryan Borberg retired the first six batters he faced, the Patriot offense backed him up in the bottom of the second. Leading off the inning, Tom Poole threaded a base hit through the middle, and Chayton Krauss followed by lacing a liner over the left-center field fence for his 14th home run of the year and a 2-0 DBU advantage.
 
Both starting pitchers commanded the game through the early innings, limiting the opposing team's offensive production. Liberty managed to push a runner to third with two outs in the fourth, but Borberg calmly shut the door, recording his fourth strikeout of the night to keep the Flames off the board. For Liberty, the only blemish on Jake Potts' line was Krauss' homer until Adam Berghult worked his way around the bases in the fifth.
 
Berghult singled on the first pitch of the inning and took second and third on a bunt by Cody Grebeck and a groundout by Keaton Grady. In the subsequent plate appearance, with two outs and Nathan Humphreys at the plate, Berghult capitalized on a passed ball to tack on the Patriots' third run of the game.
 
Liberty finally broke through in the seventh. Ryan Borberg remained composed through 6.2 innings, scattering five hits and striking out six, but exited with runners on the corners and two outs. Reliever Liam Watt took over and induced a grounder from Michael Robertson that snuck down the third-base line, giving the Flames their first tally. The next man up, Easton Swofford, lofted a fly ball to left field that fell in front of Grant Jay for an RBI double, narrowing the gap to one. With runners on second and third, DBU turned to Mason Swinney, who coaxed an infield grounder from Tanner Marsh, but Marsh legged out the chopper for a single that scored Robertson from third to knot the game at 3-3.
 
Just as momentum seemed to swing toward the Flames, the Patriots looked to wrest it back in the bottom of the seventh. Keaton Grady battled to a 2-2 count before lofting a fly ball into right that dropped in for a double, setting the table for Nathan Humphreys. The center fielder responded in kind with a double to the left field corner to plate Grady and put DBU back in front 4-3.
 
Sensing an opportunity to break the game open, the Patriots kept pressing. After an intentional walk to Grant Jay, a perfectly executed double steal put both runners in scoring position. Liberty then issued its second intentional free pass, this time granted to Chayton Krauss, to load the bases with two outs. Joey Nerat worked the count full and punched a short grounder to third base. The speedy outfielder came inches from an RBI single, but Easton Swofford's dart reached Jaxon Sorenson's glove just in time to hold the DBU lead to one entering the eighth.
 
In search of insurance, the Patriots threatened again in the bottom of the eighth. Michael Dattalo scorched a line drive to left field, but the rainy conditions forced the ball into the wall for a leadoff double. Two batters later, Cody Grebeck delivered DBU's fifth double to drive in Dattalo and give the Patriots a two-run cushion as they headed to the ninth.
 
Luke Pettitte came into the closer role and quickly retired the first two batters he faced via a pop out and a strikeout. He came within a strike of ending the game but surrendered a walk to Swofford to bring the tying run to the plate in Tanner Marsh. Pettitte worked ahead of Marsh and used high heat on a 1-2 count to end the game and notch his first career save.
 
THREE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW
- DBU has won its conference tournament opener in six straight seasons.
- Going back to Saturday's no-hitter, the Patriot pitching staff held Liberty hitless for 12.1 consecutive innings until Camden Troyer's infield single in the fourth broke the stretch.
- DBU's one through five hitters (Keaton Grady, Nathan Humphreys, Grant Jay, Tom Poole, and Chayton Krauss) went a combined 6-18 with three runs, three doubles, and three RBI.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
5 - The Patriot offense tied its season-high with five doubles.
14 - Ryan Borberg's six strikeouts on Wednesday give him a total of 14 punch-outs over two games against Liberty this season.
100 - Nathan Humphreys and Grant Jay's double steal in the seventh gave DBU its 100th stolen base of the year.
 
UP NEXT
The Patriots are back in action tomorrow against the winner of Jacksonville State (33-23, 15-12 CUSA) versus Louisiana Tech (31-23, 14-12 CUSA). First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. CT at Liberty Baseball Stadium. Read Full Article