With Senior Day festivities set for tomorrow's doubleheader, Drury Baseball's group of elder statesmen clearly decided to start their celebration a day early.

Senior Austin Faulconer became Drury's all-time leader in pitching victories (25) with a 6-2 triumph in Saturday's second game, after senior Trevor Richards hung in there late for the win in a 6-3 victory in the opener as the Panthers kicked off the four-game set with Rockhurst with a sweep at Meador Park.

The Panthers moved to 21-20-1 overall and 15-14-1 with the pair of wins, while Rockhurst fell to 18-25 and 10-18 heading into Sunday's final GLVC pair at Meador, with a 1 p.m. start (Senior Day festivities will begin at approximately 12:30 p.m.).

Faulconer's complete-game effort in the seven-inning nightcap pushed his season record to 4-5, but marked the 25th victory in his four-year career as a Panther, pulling him out of a tie with former DU standout and current Arizona Diamondbacks minor-leaguer Will Landsheft (24 from 2011-14). Faulconer allowed four hits and two runs (one earned) while striking out four and walking just one.

"Austin was a bulldog on the mound today ... it was great to see him pitch with that intensity," Drury coach Scott Nasby said. "He hasn't been able to pitch with a league too often, and he thrives when he does. He has been as clutch as any pitcher we've ever had."

Faulconer benefitted from the long ball from a couple of his senior classmates for the offense he would need. Tyler Arthur went 3-for-3 and drive in three, with a two-run homer in the second and a solo shot in the fifth, his seventh and eighth blasts of the season. And Luke Tewes added a two-run shot in the fifth, his 10th of the season, the second-most in a season in the program's history (and pulling him within one of Matt Borgschulte's single-season record of 11 in 2013).
 

Richards was equally as effective in the nine-inning opener, going eight innings and allowing three runs while striking out five and walking two as he improved to 3-3 with his 21st career victory. He let a 3-1 lead slip away when the Hawks scored twice in the seventh, but the Panthers answered with a run in the bottom of the frame to knot it at 3 on a Mike Rafter sacrifice fly, and then Drury snagged the win with a three-run eighth. Ryan Colombo had a two-run double for the game-winner, with senior Dallas Williams adding an RBI triple for good measure.

"Trevor continues to give us a chance to win, and he shut them down for five and made some great plays on the mound," Nasby said of Richards, who had a highlight-reel snag behind his back of a liner back up the middle in the eighth. "Our three senior (pitchers) give us a chance to be really good and when we give them runs and play defense, we ahve been as good as we ever have. Gage (Jacobs) has been lights out since the day he got here.

"Those three guys will be tough to replace, and they've been busting their humps, trying to teach some of the younger guys how to carry the torch."

Senior closer Gage Jacobs pitched a damage-free ninth for his 11th save of the season, the second-most in a DU campaign (trailing the 13 by Laurent Zenoni in 2012).

Former Panther Matt Stacks, Seth Soto and Jake Jones had two hits each for the Hawks in the opener, when Drury claimed a 12-10 advantage in hits.

Sunday's doubleheader, including the pre-game Senior Day festivities, can be viewed on a free, live webcast at drurypanthers.com/watch.