THE RUNDOWN
Tuesday night, DBU (5-3) took down the UT Arlington Mavericks (2-6) by a score of 6-1. Seven different Patriot arms combined to allow just one extra base hit and zero earned runs.
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DBU came out of the gates scorching hot, as six of the first seven batters of the game reached base.
Keaton Grady led off the night with a four-pitch walk and immediately stole second base.
Jake Bennett followed Grady's walk with a free pass of his own, reaching base after an eight-pitch, full-count walk.
Ben Tryon,
Chayton Krauss, and
Mac Rose would then rip three consecutive RBI singles, giving the Pats a 3-0 lead after the top half of the first.
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Tate Hess made his first start as a Patriot tonight, tossing 2.2 scoreless innings on 48 pitches. The lone strikeout of Hess' outing came as the third out in the bottom of the first, stranding a runner on first.
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Hess began the second inning with two consecutive groundouts before allowing a single and a walk with two gone. Hess escaped the jam, getting the next batter to pop up in foul territory to
Cooper Neville.
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In the third, DBU stranded
Ben Tryon on first base after a two-out single, before
Tate Hess allowed two singles to open the bottom half. His outing would end on a good note, however, getting the next batter he faced to roll into a 4-6-3 double play, before being relieved by
Max Luzarraga. Luzarraga would throw four pitches before recording the third out on a fly ball to center field.
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Needing just 20 pitches combined to get through the entire frame, neither team was able to muster a baserunner in the fourth. DBU's lead rested at 3-0 after four innings of play.
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The Patriots stranded
Keaton Grady on second base in the fifth, after he swiped his second bag of the game. Luzarraga would finish his day with a scoreless fifth, holding UTA's Jackson Hill at second base after a two-out double.
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Ben Tryon posted his third single of the night to lead off the top of the sixth, but DBU couldn't bring him around.
Liam Watt relieved Luzarraga in the bottom half and tossed a scoreless frame, stranding Xander McAfee after a two-out single.
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Cooper Neville was left on third base after drawing a one-out walk, stealing his fifth base of the season, and advancing to third on a groundout.
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The Mavericks manufactured their only run of the night on a one-out balk in the bottom of the seventh.
Athan Kroll would be called upon to relieve
Armani Knipper with two outs in the frame, and he needed just five pitches to strike out Zach Mazoch to end the inning.
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Patriot hitters responded with a three-run top of the eighth, ignited by
Ryan Martin reaching base on an error, followed by
Ben Tryon's fourth single of the game to lead off the inning. Martin came in to score on a
Mac Rose sacrifice fly, Tryon scored on a throwing error while executing a double-steal, and
Chayton Krauss came in on a
Dylan Cupp RBI single. DBU led 6-1 after the top of the eighth.
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Kroll would allow two, one-out singles in the bottom half of the eighth, before retiring the next two hitters with a pop out and a ground out, respectively.
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After a 1-2-3 top of the ninth,
Michael Benzor got the lead-off hitter in the ninth to fly out, before allowing two walks and a wild pitch.
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JT Long inherited runners on the corners with one gone in the bottom of the ninth, and needed just seven pitches to end the ballgame. Long struck out Zach Mazoch and got Noah Fields to pop up to
Dylan Cupp to put the Patriots back in the win column.
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THREE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW
- The Patriots swiped eight bags as a team tonight, which tied the single-game program record.
- DBU has used exactly seven pitchers in each of its midweek contests so far this season.
- The Patriots did not record an extra-base hit tonight.
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INSIDE THE NUMBERS
2 -
Dan Heefner now sits two wins removed from 700 career victories.
0 - LHPs
Liam Watt and
Max Luzarraga have yet to allow a run in 9.1 combined innings.
10 -
Ryan Martin,
Ben Tryon, and
Jake Bennett now share the team lead in hits with ten.
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ON DECK
The Patriots return home this weekend to host both Oral Roberts (3-5) and Air Force (2-5). Thursday's first pitch against the Golden Eagles is scheduled for 6:35 pm.
