ST. LOUIS, Mo.— It was a day that proved no lead is safe as Drury rallied from 9-4 down at the University of Missouri-St. Louis to win game one 11-10 in 10 innings, and then lost game two 8-7 as the Tritons scored a pair of late-inning runs on Saturday in St. Louis, Missouri.
The split moved Drury's record to 23-10 and 16-11 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference while UMSL ended the day 9-31 and 8-19 in the league.
Drury was roughed up early in game one as the Tritons scored at least one run in their first five innings and built a 9-4 lead midway through the contest. The Panthers picked up a run in the sixth, then tied the game on a two-out grand slam by
Aaron Mann in the eighth.
Drury took the lead in the 10th on
Collin Fraley's RBI single that scored
Clayton Engel, and Mann would cross the plate later in the frame on a wild pitch to give the Panthers an 11-9 lead.
Alex Austin (3-2), Drury's fourth pitcher of the game, worked two innings of relief to get the win. He allowed a run in the 10th but retired three of the four batters he faced in the extra frame to close out the game.
Fraley went 4 for 6 at the plate with a double and three RBI's, while Mann went 3 for 6 with three runs scored, four RBI's and the home run was his fifth of the year.
The seven-inning second game on Saturday went back-and-forth as the Panthers had a 4-2 lead through two innings, but UMSL scored four runs in the third to go up 6-4. Drury reclaimed the lead an inning later scoring on a
Nikko Calabro ground ball, and RBI singles by
Ryan Kayhill and
Jackson Dierenfeldt.
The Tritons tied the game in the sixth, though, on a Koltyn Schilly ground ball, and UMSL won the game in the bottom of the seventh when Jarrett O'Brien drew a bases-loaded walk.
Drury's
Clayton Engel hit a pair of home runs in the game and went 3 for 5 with three runs, three RBI's and a double. The homers were the seventh and eighth of the season for the Ozark, Missouri native.
The Panthers are back at home on Tuesday to host Missouri Southern State at 6 pm in a non-conference game at US Baseball Park in Ozark.
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