THE RUNDOWN
In the 2026 opening series finale, the DBU Patriots (3-0) completed a sweep of the Binghamton Bearcats (0-3), winning 6-3 on the backs of an elite bullpen performance.
Tate Hess received his first win as a Patriot after throwing five perfect innings in relief, striking out four in the process.
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Binghamton would scratch three across in the top of the first, and
Athan Kroll would be called upon to record the third out.
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After Kroll tossed a three-up, three-down top of the second, the Patriot offense would bring two runs to the plate in the bottom half via RBI singles.
Adam Berghult and
Cooper Neville drove home
Landon Underhill and
Dylan Cupp, respectively, finishing the inning trailing 3-2.
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Tate Hess replaced Kroll in the top of the third and tossed the first of his five perfect innings.
Ben Tryon then led off the bottom of the third with a walk, setting the table for
Ryan Martin's first home run of the season, which gave DBU a 4-3 lead. Martin went with an outside slider and parked it over the right field wall.
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A one-run lead was all that the Patriot bullpen needed this afternoon, as Hess would hold Binghamton without a single baserunner through the next four frames. In the top of the seventh, Hess recorded the first out by stabbing a 98 mph line drive hit right back at him, before striking out the last two hitters he would face.
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DBU would plate two unearned insurance runs in the bottom of the seventh off the bats of
Jake Bennett and
Ben Tryon, scoring
Cooper Neville and
Keaton Grady.
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Aiden VanDeHatert was handed the ball in the top of the eighth, and the lefty would toss two scoreless innings — striking out four — to record the save in his Patriot debut.
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THREE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW
- Patriot hitters only struck out four times this afternoon, while receiving five free passes.
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Adam Berghult finished the weekend with a team-high .857 batting average (6/7).
- DBU has yet to record a fielding error through three games this season.
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INSIDE THE NUMBERS
1,215 - The Patriots ripped 1,215 feet worth of home runs this weekend.
21 -
Athan Kroll,
Tate Hess, and
Aiden VanDeHatert combined to record 21 consecutive outs without allowing a hit.
66.3% - DBU pitchers combined for a 66.3% strike percentage today.
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ON DECK
The Patriots will welcome Abilene Christian (3-1) to Dallas on Tuesday night for the first midweek contest of the new season. First pitch from Horner Ballpark is scheduled for 6:35 pm.
