OZARK, Mo.— Drury got clutch hitting, pitching and defense, as they picked up a 5-3 win over 21st ranked Missouri Southern State on Tuesday at US Baseball Park in Ozark.
The Panthers raised their record to 24-20 as they defeated the Lions for the second time this season and dropped Missouri Southern to 29-14.
Drury starter
Collin Fraley (3-2) got the win in his first start since April 3rd and went six innings allowing six hits, only one run, one walk, and season-high seven strikeouts.
"He was consistent all the way through," said Drury head coach
Scott Nasby of Fraley's performance. "He was able to go far enough into the game where we could get to our reliable guys in the pen."
The Panthers took the lead in the bottom of the fourth as
Clayton Engel drilled the wall in right-center for an RBI-triple to tie the game at 1-1, and then would score on a sacrifice fly by
Brandt Ollinger. Drury added two more runs in the sixth on
Kaden Helsel's double with two outs.
The Lions pulled closer with a run in the seventh, but the Panthers answered that as
Brant Schaffitzel came through with another two-out RBI as his single drove in
Jackson Dierenfeldt.
Missouri Southern pulled within two on a solo home run by Matt Miller, but Helsel moved from left field to the pitcher's mound in the ninth inning and closed out the game to earn his second save of the season.
"Missouri Southern can really hit, and they squared some balls up that we had to make some amazing plays on," said Nasby. "
Cole Dunham made a diving play in the gap in the eighth inning, and that made sure that it was a solo home run and not a two-run bomb that followed. We also got a couple of knocks with two outs that helped us preserve the lead."
The win was Drury's fourth of the year against a top 25 team.
The Panthers are home again this weekend and will return to conference play as they host William Jewell for a three-game series that starts with a doubleheader on Saturday at noon at US Baseball Park.
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