UCM
Josh Clark, Drury Sports Communications
7
Central Mo. CENTRAL 6-2
9
Winner Drury DRURY 4-0
Central Mo. CENTRAL
6-2
7
Final
9
Drury DRURY
4-0
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Central Mo. CENTRAL 0 2 0 3 0 0 1 0 1 7 14 2
Drury DRURY 4 3 0 0 1 1 0 0 X 9 8 2

W: Logan, Alex (1-0) L: T. DesLaurie (0-1) S: Peterson, Sam (2)

Game Recap: Baseball | | Eric Doennig, Associate AD - Media Relations

Panthers Knock Off No. 2 UCM to Open Home Slate

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — Drury baseball opened its 2026 home season in style, building a five-run second-inning lead before holding on late for a 9-7 victory over No. 2 Central Missouri Tuesday afternoon at Mark Worley Field at Meador Park.

The victory not only extends the Panthers' perfect 4-0 start to the new season -- their best since winning 10 in a row to start the 2022 campaign -- but also represents a high-water mark for Drury in terms of wins over ranked foes, matching a March 2, 2019 win over No. 2 Augustana for the highest-ranked victory in program history.

"I'm so proud of the men as they had their foot on the gas offensively all day," head coach Scott Nasby said. "We had some great pitching performances as well, and some huge outs from senior Joey Funk. It's always great to have success early to see guys build their confidence."

Xander Schmitt belted a two-out, three-run home run to stake the Panthers to a 4-0 first-inning lead, then drove in single runs in his next two at-bats to finish with a five-RBI performance. The redshirt freshman catcher drew a bases-loaded walk as part of DU's three-run second inning that also included a steal of home by Landon Willbrand that allowed the Panthers to answer UCM's two-run rally in the top half of the inning, extending their advantage to 7-2.

Another Drury freshman, starting pitcher Anthony Vita, delivered for the Panthers in the early stages of the contest as well. Vita stranded a UCM baserunner in scoring position with a pair of called third strikes in the opening inning, then minimized the damage in the second, when he issued four walks -- including two with the bases loaded -- before getting a lift from Luke Matschiner, who threw out a baserunner at the plate to end the rally.

Vita worked a scoreless third inning, before Alex Logan (1-0) relieved him in the fourth and turned in 1 2/3 shutout frames to keep the Mules at a distance. UCM (6-2) plated three runs in the fourth to slice the margin to 7-5, but Logan induced an inning-ending fly ball to preserve a two-run DU lead. He also worked out of a bases-loaded situation in the fifth, thanks to a standout defensive effort by All-American Jackson Crider, who left his feet to knock down a hot shot to first, then dove to beat the UCM runner to the bag for the final out of the inning.

Drury rode that momentum to another scoring rally in the home half of the inning when Greydon Miller led off the frame with a triple and came home on Schmitt's sacrifice fly to right.

The Panthers added a ninth run in the sixth, taking advantage of the fifth walk handed out by UCM pitching to add to their lead. Matschiner, who drew two of those free passes, scored his third run of the contest on Crider's RBI double into the right-center field gap that stretched the DU lead back to four runs.

Crider, who also singled home a run in the second, finished 3-for-4 with two RBIs to lead Drury at the plate.

As Nasby stated, Funk made the lead stand through eight, holding the Mules to a seventh-inning run over a three-inning stretch before the visitors mounted a threat in the ninth. The left-hander worked a 1-2-3 sixth inning, then stranded a UCM runner in scoring position in the seventh, getting back-to-back ground balls to limit the Mules to one run.

Funk retired the first two batters of the eighth before back-to-back hits from Kaiden Ashton and Evan Vienhage set up a UCM threat. But Crider came up with another key defensive stop, snaring a sharp bouncer behind the first-base bag for the third out, stranding both baserunners and preserving the three-run DU cushion.

In the ninth, Sam Peterson relieved Funk with one run home and the potential tying run at the plate. The senior promptly struck out Jackson Helberg and Drew Veatch in succession to squash the rally and secure his second save of the season.

Ashton and Collin Dobson each recorded three hits in the game to lead UCM, which out-hit the Panthers by a 14-8 margin. Treyton DesLauriers (0-1) suffered the setback for the Mules after allowing four unearned runs in the first inning.

LOOKING AHEAD
Following a week off, the Panthers will return to action with a three-game non-conference road trip to Central Oklahoma, beginning with a 3 p.m. contest on Friday, Feb. 20.

Fans may purchase 2026 Drury baseball season tickets or single-game seats through DruryPanthers.com.

For all the latest information on Drury men's baseball, visit DruryPanthers.com. For up-to-the-minute updates, follow the Panthers on X and Instagram.

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