OZARK, Mo.— The Panthers lost their grip on a 5-1 lead but responded with a run in the eighth to tie and a run in the bottom of the ninth to defeat William Jewell 7-6 on Sunday at US Baseball Park in Ozark.
Drury took three of the four games in the series and improved to 5-7 and 5-5 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference, while William Jewell dropped to 5-9 and 4-8 in the league.
The Panthers carried a 5-3 lead into the eighth when the Cardinals scored three runs to take a 6-5 lead.
Drury pushed home the tying run in the bottom of half of the inning.
Nikko Calabro was hit by a pitch to lead off the frame, then advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by
Riley Herron. Calabro got to third on a fly ball, then came home on a pinch-hit double by
Jacob Mitchell.
In the bottom of the ninth, the Panthers got a lead-off single from
Jackson Dierenfeldt and
Brant Schaffitzel's sac bunt put him on second. After a walk to
Aaron Mann,
Clayton Engel produced the game-winning hit with a single to right-center, giving Drury the victory.
"We had six conference games this week and went 5-1," said Drury head coach
Scott Nasby. "I think a younger group would be overwhelmed by six games and based on where we started the season. But I think this team has been through this before, and nobody is pressing too much. When the time has come, we've had some big performances."
Calabro was a single away from hitting for the cycle as the sophomore for St. John's, Florida, went 3 for 3, with a home run, double, triple, three runs scored, and two runs batted in. He has hit by a pitch in his final plate appearance.
"He was pounding the ball, and that opposite-field home run was impressive," said Nasby. "When he uses all parts of the field, it's pretty tough to stop him."
Bayler Hinz (1-1) got the win in relief, retiring all three batters he faced in the ninth. Nyk Yaquab (1-3) took the loss for William Jewell.
Drury returns to action on Tuesday when they travel to Missouri-St. Louis for a doubleheader starting at noon at UMSL.
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