THE RUNDOWN
Friday night, DBU (15-11, 5-2 CUSA) took down Missouri State (16-8, 5-2 USA) by a score of 5-4, taking the first game of the weekend set. Patriot starter
Liam Watt didn't allow a baserunner until the fourth inning, and would go on to toss seven crucial frames, striking out five in the process.
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Watt needed just eight pitches to toss a one-two-three inning in the top of the first, before the Patriots blitzed Missouri State's Ross Felder for a three-spot in the bottom half.
Ben Tryon and
Chayton Krauss set the table for RBI singles from
Cooper Neville and
Jude Hall, and a
Ryan Martin sacrifice fly.
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Watt and Felder both tossed scoreless frames in the second, third, and fourth innings, preserving DBU's 3-0 lead.
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After the Bears were blanked in the top of the fifth,
Luke Pettitte led off the bottom half of the inning with a solo home run to left field, pushing the Patriots' lead to four.
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Missouri State began to claw back in the sixth, managing to scratch two runs across in the inning, highlighted by a lead-off homer from Gabe Roessler.
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In the bottom of the sixth,
Brooks Sartain and
Ben Tryon reached base via free passes to start the inning.
Chayton Krauss would later punch a two-out RBI double to center field, scoring Sartain, and making the score 5-2 in favor of DBU.
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Neither team would score in the seventh, as Watt tossed yet another three-up, three-down inning.
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In the top of the eighth, the Bears would bring two more runs home on a pair of RBI groundouts.
Michael Benzor got the ball with two outs and a runner on first, and struck out Caden Bogenpohl in an electric left-on-left matchup.
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Athan Kroll was given a save opportunity, tasked with defending a 5-4 lead in the top of the ninth. Kroll struck out Carter Bergman to lead off the inning, and got the next hitter, Logan Fyffe, to pop up to
Jude Hall in left field. With two outs in the ninth, Bobby Atkinson hit a hard ground ball up the middle, where
Brooks Sartain would make an elite diving play to end the game.
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THREE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW
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Liam Watt faced the minimum number of hitters in five of his seven innings pitched.
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Chayton Krauss led everyone with three base hits tonight and recorded his fourth and fifth doubles of the season.
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Luke Pettitte is 11/28 with four homers and 16 RBIs in his last seven games.
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INSIDE THE NUMBERS
12 - The Patriots recorded double-digit base hits for the 14th time this season (12 tonight).
4 - DBU hitters only struck out four times tonight.
30 - With his sixth-inning double,
Chayton Krauss became the second Patriot to eclipse 30 RBI this season.
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ON DECK
The Patriots continue their series with Missouri State tomorrow afternoon.
Jared Schaeffer is projected to toe the rubber at 3:05 pm.
