OZARK, Mo.— The Panthers late-inning comeback against the sixth-ranked Lindenwood Lions fell short as Drury lost 9-7.
The Panthers fell to 0-3 and 0-1 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference, while Lindenwood continued their undefeated run raising their record to 9-0 and 5-0 in the league.
The first three innings were a pitcher's duel between Drury's
Tom Tewes and Lindenwood's Kyle Hentis. The Lions started the scoring in the top of the fourth as they pushed across two runs on a single and a passed ball. Lindenwood continued the scoring in the top of the fifth with three runs to give them a 5-0 lead.
Drury answered with a run of their own in the bottom of the fifth on a
Brant Schaffitzel single to drive in
Jackson Dierenfeldt. Lindenwood continued their scoring run in the top of the sixth, adding two more runs to extend their lead to 7-1.
After a scoreless top of the seventh for the Lions, Drury started their comeback. Schaffitzel drove in
Ethan Owens on a double to begin the scoring. With the bases loaded,
Nikko Calabro added three runs on the board with a bases-clearing double. Later in the inning,
Collin Fraley drove in D.J. McNew to pull the Panthers within one.
Lindenwood followed up the Drury scoring with two runs of their own. The Panthers scored one run in the bottom of the ninth to pull within two runs but fell just short, losing 9-7.
The Panthers were led on offense by Schaffitzel and Calabro. Schaffitzel went 2 for 4 with two runs batted in and two runs. Calabro went 2 for 5 with a three-run double and four runs batted in.
Lindenwood was led on offense by Beau Collier. Collier was 2 for 5 with two runs batted in.
Tewes (0-1) took the loss for the Panthers after allowing four earned runs across five innings.
Justin Taylor (0-1) took the win in relief for Lindenwood while Niko Marshall got his third save of the year.
The Panthers continue their opening weekend of GLVC play on Saturday against Lindenwood with a doubleheader at U.S. Ballpark with a scheduled start time of 12 p.m.
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