Drury's bats came alive in the series finale, as the Panthers pounded out a season-high 18 hits and crossed the plate 12 times in the first four innings of a 13-7 victory over Lewis in their Great Lakes Valley Conference season-opening set Monday afternoon at Meador Park.
Lewis defeated the Panthers 11-6 in the seven-inning opener Monday, leaving the Panthers and Flyers with a split for the second consecutive day.
Drury (5-7 overall, 2-2 in the GLVC) used a big nightcap from senior first baseman
Luke Tewes to fuel the outburst. Tewes clubbed two homers - giving him a team-high five for the season - and drove in five runs as the Panthers jumped on Lewis early, scoring two runs each in the first two innings before adding three in the third and five runs in the fourth for a quick 12-2 lead.
Dallas Williams and
Spencer Wilmes also had three hits each in the nine-inning nightcap, with
Tyler Arthur,
Mike Rafter and
John Goodrich having two hits apiece. Goodrich drove in a career-high four runs.
That was more than enough backing for sophomore
Ryan Colombo, who allowed two earned runs and eight hits in six innings, striking out six and walking one to get the victory.
Lewis (6-6, 2-2) grabbed a 4-0 lead through four innings in the opener against DU lefty
Luke Burnidge (2-1). The Panthers made it a game with three runs in the bottom of the fifth, including a two-run homer by Wilmes, but the Flyers added a run in the sixth before breaking it open with six runs in the seventh.
Drury made it the final 11-6 count with a three-run homer from
Bobby Lang in the bottom of the seventh.
"We hit it pretty well today, but unfortunately, in the first game, we had too big of a hole to climb out of," Drury coach
Scott Nasby said. "Hats off to
Tyler Arthur, who had a great weekend and caught just about every inning behind the plate in warm weather. This team has shown the ability to do all three things well - play defense, pitch and hit. Once we start putting those things together, I think we'll be in good shape.
"On a warm, windy day at Meador, you have to keep the ball down in the zone and unfortunately, in the first game, we didn't do that."
The Panthers are back in action on Tuesday at Meador Park, playing host to Southwest Baptist at 4 p.m. in a single nine-inning game.
