SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – No. 18 Drury baseball returns to Mark Worley Field at Meador Park to open a nine-game home stand with a four-game non-conference series with No. 25 Augustana. The top 25 matchup gets under way Friday (March 6) with a 2:40 p.m. contest, followed by a 1 p.m. doubleheader on Saturday (March 7) and a single nine-inning game on Sunday (March 8).
The Panthers are off to an 8-3 start this season, despite dropping an 11-9 road contest to Missouri Southern on Tuesday in Joplin. Augustana enters the series 8-4 on the season after being swept in a four-game set with nationally-ranked Colorado Mesa last weekend in Colorado.
Drury is ranked No. 18 in this week's ABCA Coaches Poll and No. 23 in the D2 Baseball Poll; Augustana enters the series ranked No. 25 in the ABCA Poll.
Fans may follow the action through the GLVC Sports Network (subscription required), where games will be streamed live throughout the regular season. New for the 2025-26 academic year, viewing access to live broadcasts from GLVC regular season and postseason contests will be available via monthly subscription ($30) or annual subscription ($140). Single-event access can also be purchased for $15.
LEADING OFF:
- The Panthers are celebrating their 20th season in 2026 and bring an overall program record of 551-413-1 into Friday's contest.
- Drury is ranked No. 18 in this week's ABCA Coaches Poll and No. 23 in the D2 Baseball Poll; Augustana enters the series ranked No. 25 in the ABCA Poll.
- The Vikings own a 9-6 series edge over the Panthers, including four-straight wins in the series dating back to 2019.
- INF Jackson Crider was named GLVC Player of the Week on Monday after hitting .583 (7-for-12) with a home run and eight RBIs while logging multiple hits in all three Drury wins last week.
- OF Greydon Miller went 6-for-10 with four extra-base hits in two games over the weekend and was DU's leading hitter during its four-game win streak, batting a blistering .563 (9-for-16) with seven RBIs.
- DU is led by 14th-year head coach Scott Nasby, who has compiled an overall mark of 375-279-1 as the Panthers' all-time winningest coach.
- Drury posted a 9-7 victory over No. 2 UCM on Feb. 10, matching the program's highest-ranked victory (March 2, 2019 vs. No. 2 Augustana).
- Fans are reminded that Mark Worley Field at Meador Park is a CASHLESS FACILITY and transactions are limited to credit/debit card and mobile wallet platforms.
SERIES HISTORY
- The Vikings hold a 9-6 series edge over the Panthers entering Friday's series opener.
- The two clubs last met in March 2024, with Augustana pulling off a three-game sweep of Drury in Springfield.
- DU's last win over Augustana came on March 2, 2019, when the Vikings were ranked second in the nation.
LAST TIME OUT
- Despite battling back from a pair of one-run deficits and clubbing a season-high four home runs, Drury came out on the short end of an 11-9 decision against Missouri Southern in a back-and-forth non-conference contest Tuesday at Warren Turner Field.
- Caleb Briggs' sixth-inning grand slam highlighted a five-run inning for the Panthers, who turned a 3-2 deficit into a four-run advantage over the Lions.
- Drury added a Landon Willbrand two-run shot in the eighth to take a 9-5 lead into the home half of the inning.
- But the Lions would rally, using a pair of walks, a fielder's choice ground ball and a DU error to set the table for the game's decisive stretch.
- Aiden Hinkle doubled home the first MSSU run of the inning, before Will Doherty's RBI-single sliced the margin to two runs.
CRIDER HONORED BY GLVC
- INF Jackson Crider powered a potent Drury offense that swept the Drury Invitational field with three straight double-digit run totals, earning the DU sophomore Athletics Solutions GLVC Player of the Week honors (March 2).
- Crider hit .583 (7-for-12) with a home run and eight RBIs, logging multiple hits in all three contests; he slugged .889 with an OPS of 1.556 for the week, as DU racked up 42 runs on 46 hits while hitting .438 as a team.
- The San Antonio, Texas product went a combined 5-for-7 (.714) with a key three-run home run and six total RBIs in wins over fellow GLVC foes Indianapolis and Missouri S&T.
- Crider belted his first home run of the season and drove in four runs to help the Panthers topple preseason GLVC favorite UIndy last Friday, then added a three-hit effort in a 17-6 run-rule victory over Missouri S&T the following evening; he also logged a two-hit day in DU's win over Washburn.
BAIN CLIMBING THE DU CHARTS
- Senior OF Connor Bain entered his final season as a Panther with the opportunity to leave a lasting imprint in the DU record book.
- Bain brings a .320 career batting average and 135 runs scored into the week, with the latter total ranking 11th in DU history.
- He also cracked the top 10 on DU's career home run chart with his 14th round-tripper as a Panther in last Sunday's victory at UCO, then went deep in Tuesday's game at Missouri Southern to pull to within 10 homers of Luke Burk's program record.
- Additionally, Bain has swiped 46 bases to rank seventh on the Panthers' career list, which is 31 shy of Nick Thimesch's program mark of 77.
- Bain also ranks among DU's all-time leaders in walks (79) and needs just seven more hits to break into the Panthers' career top 10 list, with 186 to his credit.
PANTHERS IN THE POLLS
- Drury made its 2026 debut in the D2 Baseball Poll at No. 23 this week, while rising to No. 18 in the American Baseball Coaches Association's NCAA Division II Poll.
- Following its upset of No. 2 UCM on Feb. 10 and a 4-0 start to the new season, Drury cracked the national rankings Feb. 17 with its citation as the No. 17 team in the ABCA poll.
- The national ranking for the Panthers marked their first in any of the major polls this season, as well as the program's first top 25 ranking since March 2023.
LOOKING AHEAD
The Panthers continue their home stand with a 4 p.m., non-conference game Wednesday (March 11) against Grand Valley State at Mark Worley Field at Meador Park.
Fans may purchase 2026 season tickets or single-game seats through DruryPanthers.com.
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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