OZARK, Mo.- The Drury Panthers took sole possession of first place in the West Division of the Great Lakes Valley Conference on Sunday with a doubleheader sweep of Maryville at U.S. Baseball Park in Ozark. Drury won game one 2-1 in 8 innings and took game two 3-2 with a run in the bottom of the seventh.
 
Drury improved to 27-19 and 18-6 in the GLVC. The Panthers ended the day with a one-game lead over Quincy who split a doubleheader on Sunday at William Jewell.
 
Maryville fell to 23-23 and 15-9 in the conference.
 
Drury forced extra innings in game one scoring a run in the sixth to tie the game at 1-1. Caleb Essick's RBI single drove in Will Sachs to forge a tie and relievers Nick Constantino, and Alex Austin got the Panthers out of a one-out, runners at first and second jam in the seventh to force extras.
 
Essick came to the plate again in the eighth and was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to bring home Ryan Kayhill for the winning run. Kayhill went 3 for 4 in the game and led off the eighth inning with a single.
 
"We took advantage of the opportunities they gave us," said Drury head coach Scott Nasby. "That's what we've talked about all year – take what's given to you and exploit it."
 
Avery Jennings got a no-decision in the start but went 6.1 innings allowing three hits and one unearned run with one walk and two strikeouts.
 
Drury won in the last at-bat again in game two as they executed a safety-squeeze play to score the winning run in a 3-2 victory.
 
Bayler Hinz led off the bottom of the seventh inning with a double. Essick's sacrifice bunt then put pinch-runner Grant Thimesch at third base with one out. After Brant Schaffitzel was intentionally walked, Ethan Owens put down a bunt that scored Thimesch for the winning run.
 
"We had two of our fastest guys out there, and we had an opportunity to win that game if we just execute that play," said Nasby. "That's why we work on those plays throughout the week."
 
Drury starter Colby Childs got a no-decision but did not allow a hit until the sixth inning. He completed five innings and gave up one hit and one run with four walks and five strikeouts.
 
"We used our bullpen pretty heavily, and that normally means that your starters didn't go very well, but both those guys were phenomenal today," said Nasby. "The bullpen did their job to allow their hitters to get some knocks."
 
Owens finished the game going 2 for 4 with two RBI's.
 
Drury ends the regular season next weekend with the GLVC West Division title on the line. The four-game series starts with a doubleheader on Friday at noon in Quincy, Illinois.
 
 
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