OZARK, Mo. – Jackson Dierenfeldt's two-run homer in the fourth inning gave Drury a 4-3 lead and the Panthers bullpen held Missouri-St. Louis in the late innings in a 7-4 win over the Tritons at US Baseball Park in Ozark on Friday.
 
Drury won their 30^th game of the year and improved to 30-13 and 15-6 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference. UMSL fell to 13-25 and 12-9 in the league.
 
The Tritons took a 3-2 with three runs in the third but moved back in front an inning later when Dierenfeldt slammed a two-run shot over the center field fence. Drury went up 5-3 on DJ McNew's single in the fifth and McNew gave the Panthers a two-run cushion again in the seventh with a double off of the left field wall that drove in a run to give DU a 6-4 advantage.
 
The Panthers tacked on a run in the eighth, and the Drury bullpen held the lead in the final three innings. Starter Mason Meeks (5-3) got the win going 6.2 innings, allowing six hits, four runs and three earned runs with one walk and four strikeouts. Relievers Jack Jones and Mason Majors both set up Nate Boyle, who pitched a scoreless ninth inning for his fifth save.
 
"It was a tough day to hit with the wind blowing in, but I thought our pitchers did a good job of getting ahead of their guys," said Drury head coach Scott Nasby. "The pen was great; they attacked the zone and let our offense work."
 
Dierenfeldt finished the game 1 for 2 with his second home run of the year and three RBI's. The junior from Kansas City walked twice and was hit by a pitch. 
 
"Dierenfeldt is a true leader for us," added Nasby. "He was laying out defensively, hitting his second career home run on a tough day to hit, and he just took the game into his own hands at that point on the home run. That's why this team has been so great – you have leaders that step up and do things like that."
 
The two teams continue their four-game series on Saturday with a doubleheader starting at noon at US Baseball Park.
 
 
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