Morrison
Hudson Harkness, Drury Sports Communications
4
Drury DU 4-0
5
Winner Central Oklahoma UCO 7-3
Drury DU
4-0
4
Final
5
Central Oklahoma UCO
7-3
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Drury DU 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 1 4 10 2
Central Oklahoma UCO 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 2 5 6 0

W: B. Berlowitz (2-0) L: Peterson, Sam (0-1)

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

Bronchos Rally in Ninth to Hand Panthers First Setback

EDMOND, Okla. — Central Oklahoma rallied from an early three-run deficit to hand No. 17 Drury baseball its first setback of the season with a 5-4 decision via a two-run, ninth-inning rally in the opening game of the two clubs' non-conference series Friday afternoon at Wendell Simmons Field.

After UCO scored single runs in three consecutive innings to wipe out a 3-0 Drury advantage, the Panthers (4-1) took a 4-3 lead in the top of the ninth on Jackson Crider's go-ahead sacrifice fly.

But the Bronchos (8-3) took advantage of a trio of hit batsmen and a Caleb Castle base hit to set the stage for the walk-off victory. Elijah Alexander earned a free pass after being hit by a Sam Peterson (0-1) pitch to open the inning, before Castle delivered a one-out single to right to put runners on the corners. A wild pitch brought home the equalizing run, before back-to-back hit-by-pitches loaded the bases.

DU reliever Markell Dixon retired pinch hitter Haden O'Toole on a pop foul for the second out, but a balk call during the next at-bat brought in Castle from third with the winning run.

The loss followed a strong start by the Panthers, particularly from junior starting pitcher Coleman Morrison, who held the Bronchos scoreless on just two singles over the first five innings.

The Panther lineup took advantage of a pair of two-out rallies to build a three-run lead over the same span. A walk to leadoff man Caleb Briggs to open the game led to DU's first scoring rally, as back-to-back singles by Logan Reidelberger and Connor Bain set up Xander Schmitt's sacrifice fly that put the Panthers in front, 1-0.

After Morrison worked around a pair of walks to keep the Bronchos off the scoreboard in the home half of the third, the Panthers utilized the first of a pair of two-out rallies sparked by the bat of Luke Matschiner. After UCO starting pitcher Braxton Jones promptly retired the first two DU hitters of the fourth, Matschiner drove a base hit up the middle, then swiped second for his third steal of the season. Carter Wambach followed with a run-scoring double down the right-field line to double the Panther lead.

Drury would follow a similar pattern to plate its third run of the day in the sixth. With two out, Matschiner laced a double to right, before Wambach cashed in again with an RBI-single to center for a 3-0 DU cushion.

The Bronchos got on the board via a two-out single of their own in the bottom of the sixth, despite Matschiner gunning down a UCO baserunner at the plate to squash the rally. UCO plated single runs in the seventh and eighth innings as well, pulling even on Kade Sheldon's two-out single to right following a Panther error.

Drury regained the lead in the ninth after Landon Willbrand led off the inning with a single, moved to second on Colin McClure's grounder to the right side and advanced to third on Briggs' infield single. Crider made it a 4-3 game by lofting a sac fly to center.

Matschiner led the Panthers at the plate, finishing 2-for-4 with a steal and a pair of runs scored, while Wambach added two run-producing hits. Briggs and Reidelberger also logged two-hit efforts to pace Drury's 10-hit attack.

Morrison turned in 6.0 solid innings, striking out five and scattering three hits with just one earned run allowed.

LOOKING AHEAD
The Panthers and Bronchos return to action for game two of the series Saturday (Feb. 21) with a 2 p.m. first pitch from Wendell Simmons Field.

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

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