DALLAS – Dallas Baptist overcame an early two-run deficit by scoring eight times in the second and third innings en route to a 9-5 victory over Missouri State Friday in the opening game of the two clubs' Missouri Valley Conference series at Horner Ballpark.
Camden Duzenack led the Dallas Baptist charge with a 3-for-4 night that included critical run-producing hits in each of the Patriots' three scoring rallies, as eight of the nine DBU position starters recorded at least one hit or one RBI in the contest.
DBU starter Colin Poche (8-0) turned in a dominant mound effort to lift the Patriots (33-15, 12-3 MVC) to their sixth-consecutive MVC series-opening victory. The left-hander improved on his spotless 2016 record with a career-best 14-strikeout performance in which he limited the Bears to three runs on five hits over his 6.0 innings.
After the Bears (29-18, 3-12 MVC) grabbed a 2-0 on Alex Jefferson's two-run homer in the first, the Patriots responded in a big way over the next two innings, sending a total of 18 men to the plate while scoring eight runs on six hits and five walks.
DBU coaxed three free passes from MSU starter Dylan Coleman (6-4) to load the bases in the second, and Duzenack made the freshman pay with a two-out, two-run single to level the game at 2-2.
The Patriots wasted no time in breaking the tie, putting their first six men on base in the third. Three consecutive singles by the home club started the onslaught, before back-to-back walks to Jameson Hannah and Trooper Reynolds forced home runs to hand DBU a 4-2 advantage.
Next, Matt Duce stroked a double to right to score the third and fourth runs of the rally, before Duzenack came through with his second RBI single in as many innings. David Martinelli capped the third-inning scoring with a sacrifice liner to right to stretch the DBU lead to six runs.
Poche surrendered back-to-back doubles to Eduardo Castro and Aaron Meyer to start the fifth, but once again recovered with the help of a pair of strikeouts. Meyer's 15th two-bagger of the season cut the MSU deficit to 8-3, but Poche fanned both Hunter Steinmetz and Jefferson to limit the damage and begin a string of five straight strikeouts.
DBU reliever Dalton Higgins worked the final three frames to earn his second save, yielding a pair of ninth-inning runs on a Justin Paulsen homer and a Matt Fultz RBI grounder following a Jeremy Eierman double.
The Patriots' bottom third of the batting order produced six hits in 10 at-bats, driving in six total runs. Duce finished his night 2-for-3 with two runs scored and two RBIs to complement Duzenack's big game.
Up next, the Bears and Patriots will square off in game two of the series Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m.
