THE RUNDOWN
Sunday afternoon, DBU (23-17, 12-6 CUSA) dropped the series finale to Liberty (28-11, 13-5 CUSA) by a score of 9-8, and fell to fourth place in the conference standings. The Patriots now sit four games back of the CUSA leaders, Jacksonville State.
​
The Flames broke the seal in the top of the first with a Jordan Jaffe sacrifice fly, but
Chayton Krauss would respond in the bottom half with a lead-taking two-run homer over the left field wall.
​
The score would remain 2-1 through the third inning, as
Jared Schaeffer and Liberty's Bradley Zayac settled in.
​
Liberty knotted the game at two in the top of the fourth on a Nick Barone RBI single up the middle.
​
The Patriots brought a whopping five runs to the plate in the bottom of the fourth to create some major separation on the scoreboard.
Mac Rose,
Brooks Sartain, and
Dylan Schlaegel recorded RBI doubles in succession to highlight the big inning for DBU, and
Luke Pettitte drove in the fifth run with a two-out single that beat the shift.
​
However, the healthy advantage wouldn't last long, as Liberty responded to DBU's five-run inning with a six-spot in the top of the fifth. The Flames' first two hitters in the inning were set down on strikes before nine consecutive batters reached base, resulting in six runs.
​
Trailing 8-7 in the bottom of the fifth,
Mac Rose tied the game with an RBI infield single, scoring
Ben Tryon all the way from second base.
​
After a scoreless sixth, Liberty would retake the lead in the top of the seventh with a bases-loaded hit by pitch. With the bags full and nobody out in the inning,
Jerrod Jenkins would strike out Kyle Hvidsten before inducing a flyball double play against Josh Campos, which ended with
Ryan Martin throwing out Nick Barone at home plate. Heading to the bottom of the seventh, Liberty led 9-8.
​
The score would remain at 9-8 for the remainder of the afternoon, as Patriot hitters went just 1-10 at the plate in the final three innings.
​
THREE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW
-
Chayton Krauss has homered in four consecutive ballgames.
- Seven earned runs is the most that Liberty's Bradley Zayac has conceded all season.
- This weekend marked just the third conference series at Horner Ballpark that the Patriots lost in the past three years.
​
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
0 -
Max Luzarraga hasn't allowed a run in his last 5.2 innings pitched.
.667 -
Mac Rose posted a batting average of .667 in two starts this weekend.
5 -
Brooks Sartain led everyone with five fielding assists this afternoon.
​
ON DECK
The Patriots will travel to Fort Worth on Tuesday to conclude their season series with TCU (23-15, 9-8 Big 12). First pitch is scheduled for 6:00 p.m.
