THE RUNDOWN
Sunday afternoon, DBU (14-10, 4-2) took down Delaware (10-14, 1-5) by a score of 8-6 in extra innings, claiming its second consecutive series victory in CUSA play. The Patriot bullpen delivered 6.2 innings of one-run ball on just four hits allowed.
Avery Duncan received his first win of 2026, blanking the Blue Hens in the ninth and tenth innings.
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Jake Bennett and
Ryan Martin drew first-inning walks, setting the table for
Luke Pettitte's third home run of the season. A lined shot over the left field wall gave the Patriots a 3-0 lead after the top of the first.
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Delaware would begin to claw back immediately, however, as Vincent Davis punched an RBI single to make it 3-1. Later in the inning, with runners on the corners and two outs, the Blue Hens traded a second run for the third out of the inning. This happened on a first and third play where the first base runner intentionally got caught in a rundown, allowing the third base runner to come home.
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Chase Deibler, Delaware's starting pitcher, delivered a scoreless second inning before Noah Burroughs, the designated hitter, launched a two-run homer in the bottom half to give the Blue Hens a 4-3 advantage.
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Neither team would score in the third as
Ryan Borberg and Deibler traded zeros.
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DBU went down in order in the fourth, before Sam Winsett tripled and came around to score on a wild pitch in the fourth. After four innings, the Patriots trailed 5-3.
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No runs would come across in the fifth, sixth, or seventh innings as both bullpens were settling in immediately.
Athan Kroll tossed two and a third scoreless innings, and Delaware's Ben Moyzan provided two and two-thirds of the same. After seven innings, the score remained 5-3.
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That would change in the top of the eighth, however, as the Patriots brought three runs to the plate on just one hit.
Keaton Grady,
Adam Berghult, and
Ben Tryon each received free passes with the bases loaded, giving the Patriots a 6-5 advantage.
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Evan Boldin led off the bottom of the eighth with a double and advanced to third on a groundout. Boldin would later come around to score on an Anthony Charles groundout, tying the game at six.
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DBU went down one-two-three in the top of the ninth as Delaware's Jackson Hulcher recorded a clutch three outs to keep the game tied for his offense.
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Avery Duncan got Noah Burroughs to pop up to lead off the inning, before the Blue Hens loaded the bases for Evan Bouldin, still with one out in the frame. Duncan worked him to a 1-2 count, when Bouldin poked a breaking ball to
Cooper Neville at short, who started a 6-4-3 double play, escaping the jam and forcing extra innings.
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Neville led off the tenth with a walk, and
Dylan Schlaegel immediately drove him in with a double to the wall in left center. Schlaegel would advance to third on a groundout, before coming around to score on a sac fly to the second baseman just beyond the cut of the grass.
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Duncan then delivered a scoreless bottom of the tenth, striking out two hitters to seal the series victory.
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THREE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW
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Ryan Martin and
Luke Pettitte shared the game lead in hits with two knocks each.
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Avery Duncan hasn't allowed a run in his last 8.1 innings pitched.
- All six of DBU's hits today came from the four-through-seven spots in the lineup.
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INSIDE THE NUMBERS
10 - The Patriot offense has drawn ten or more walks on three occasions this season (ten today).
.423 -
Ryan Martin is hitting .423 in his active six-game hitting streak (11-26), with two home runs.
13 -
Luke Pettitte has driven in 13 runs in his last five games.
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ON DECK
The Patriots host TCU (13-9, 2-3 Big 12) at Horner Ballpark on Tuesday. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 pm.
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