BOLIVAR, Mo.— Drury opened their final series of the regular season with an 8-1 win over Southwest Baptist at Dodson Field in Bolivar, Missouri, on Thursday.
 
The Panthers improved to 14-23 and 14-19 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference, while the Bearcats fell to 16-21 and 12-20 in the league.
 
Drury starting pitcher Bayler Hinz (2-2) shut out Southwest Baptist through seven innings. The senior from Olathe, Kansas, got the win going eight innings, allowing five hits and one earned run with three walks and four strikeouts.
 
The Panthers got on the board in the second inning with an RBI triple by DJ McNew. The Drury shortstop then scored Collin Fraley's ground ball to give his team a 2-0 lead. Drury added two more runs in the fourth when Jackson Dierenfeldt drove in a run with a single, then came home on a double by Brant Schaffitzel.
 
Drury put the game out of reach with four runs in the seventh and four more in the ninth.
 
Ethan Owens went 4 for 5 for Drury with a run scored and an RBI, while Dierenfeldt ended the game going 3 for 6 with three runs batted in. The Panthers banged out 15 hits, and nine different Drury players had at least one hit in the game.
 
Kyle Smith (3-5) took the loss for Southwest Baptist.
 
Thursday's game was the first in a four-game series. The two teams resume play tomorrow with a doubleheader, and game one is slated for a 4 pm start in Bolivar. 
 
Drury ends the regular season next weekend with a four-game series at Southwest Baptist. Game one is scheduled for Friday at 6:30 pm in Bolivar, Missouri.
 
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