THE RUNDOWN
Friday night, DBU (10-8, 1-0) took down New Mexico State (8-9, 0-1) by a score of 14-2, needing just eight innings in the C-USA opener. Patriot starter
Russ Smith tossed five innings, striking out a personal season-high of seven batters, and
Jake Bennett launched his eighth and ninth home runs of the season to propel DBU to a run-rule win.
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Russ Smith and New Mexico State's Colton Sneddon exchanged zeros in the first inning, before Jonatan Clough drove in the first run of the game with an RBI double to left center in the top of the second.
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Ryan Martin drew a full-count walk to lead off the bottom of the second, but DBU would go down quietly, trailing 1-0 after two innings.
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Smith responded after conceding a run in the second by producing a scoreless top of the third, striking out Chris Daniels to end the frame.
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With one out in the bottom of the third,
Jude Hall was plunked on a 1-2 pitch before swiping second base during the next at-bat.
Dylan Cupp advanced Hall to third with a groundout to the right side, bringing
Jake Bennett to the plate with two away. Bennett then crushed an 0-1 fastball 454 feet over the batter's eye, giving the Patriots their first lead of the night at 2-1.
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Working with a lead,
Russ Smith delivered another zero in the top of the fourth, striking out two in the frame and retiring Clough to end the top half of the inning.
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Cooper Neville placed a two-out double down the left field line in the bottom of the fourth, but would eventually be stranded in scoring position.
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Smith went out for his final inning of work in the top of the fifth and recorded his fifth, sixth, and seventh strikeouts of the night in a scoreless frame.
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The first two Patriot hitters in the bottom of the fifth were retired before
Jake Bennett and
Ben Tryon reached base to set the table for
Chayton Krauss. Krauss then punched a two-RBI double to the right-center field wall at 108 miles per hour off the bat, increasing the Patriots' lead to 4-1.
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The team-leader in ERA,
Liam Watt, took the hill in relief of Smith in the top of the sixth, and stranded Tommy Melusky on second base after allowing a lead-off double to him.
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The Patriots added an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth as
Ben Tryon worked a two-out bases-loaded walk, scoring
Adam Berghult, who was hit by pitch earlier in the frame. DBU led 5-1 after six innings.
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Watt delivered a one-two-three inning in the top of the eighth, striking out two Aggies in the process.
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The Patriots brought 11 hitters to the plate in the seventh,
Keaton Grady and
Cooper Neville drew consecutive four-pitch walks, and Grady wound up on third base during Neville's at-bat after an errant throw on his steal of second.
Adam Berghult lofted a sacrifice fly to center field to score Grady before the next six Patriot hitters reached base.
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After Berghult's sac fly,
Jude Hall walked on four pitches,
Dylan Cupp drew a full-count walk to load the bases, and then
Jake Bennett ripped his second extra-base hit of the night in the form of a three-RBI double off the left field wall.
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Ben Tryon and
Chayton Krauss then drew back-to-back walks to load the bases yet again.
Ryan Martin was then hit by pitch for the second time tonight, scoring Bennett. After seven innings, DBU led 10-1.
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Watt surrendered a lead-off homer in the top of the ninth to Aidan Lombardi before settling down and retiring the next three hitters he faced to end the top half of the eighth.
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Cooper Neville lofted a homer over the right-center field fence before
Adam Berghult and
Dylan Cupp set the table for
Jake Bennett's game-ending three-run home run over the left field fence.
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THREE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW
- DBU has won its C-USA opener every season since joining the conference in 2023.
- For the second year in a row, the Patriots earned a run-rule victory in their conference opener.
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Jake Bennett recorded a season-high eight RBI tonight.
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INSIDE THE NUMBERS
1.06 -
Liam Watt's team-leading ERA now sits at a minuscule 1.06 across 17 innings pitched.
11 - The Patriots drew double-digit walks for the second time this season (13 on Opening Day vs Binghamton).
.538 - DBU hitters went 7-13 at the plate with two outs tonight.
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ON DECK
The Patriots continue their weekend set against New Mexico State tomorrow afternoon.
Jared Schaeffer is scheduled to take the hill at 3:05 pm.
