SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Drury baseball returns to Mark Worley Field at Meador Park this weekend for a four-game GLVC set against league-leading Maryville, beginning with a 5 p.m., contest on Thursday (April 2).
The Panthers (17-12, 8-4 GLVC) and Saints (18-10, 12-0 GLVC) will square off in a Friday doubleheader, beginning at 1 p.m., before concludingvil the series with a single nine-inning contest Saturday at Noon.
Drury swept a four-game conference road series against Lincoln last week, hitting .429 as a team while averaging 16.0 runs per game. In last Friday's opener, the Panthers scored 25 runs, marking its best offensive performance since April 2021.
Maryville is also coming off a GLVC sweep after besting William Jewell in a four-game set in St. Louis. The Saints have also posted conference sweeps of Lincoln and Upper Iowa to record a 12-0 start to their GLVC season.
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 560-422-1 into Thursday's contest.
- Drury is led by 14th-year head coach Scott Nasby, who has compiled an overall mark of 384-288-1 as the Panthers' all-time winningest coach.
- Drury swept a four-game conference road series against Lincoln last week, hitting .429 as a team while averaging 16.0 runs per game.
- OF Greydon Miller tied a Drury single-game record by scoring five runs in last Friday's contest at Lincoln; Miller also scored four times in Sunday's series finale in Jefferson City.
- The Panthers rank third nationally in doubles per game (2.76), eighth in batting (.348) and 14th in scoring (10.0).
- INF Jackson Crider brings a career-best 15-game hitting streak into the series, which is the 11th-longest in Drury history.
- OF Luke Matschiner swiped four bases in last weekend's series at Lincoln to move into Drury's career top five for steals; the senior has 51 steals, which is one behind Jackson Dierenfieldt for the No. 4 spot and two shy of Caleb Essick in the third position on the list.
- OF Connor Bain was named the GLVC's Player of the Week and the NCBWA's Midwest Region Hitter of the week after going 9-for-15 with three home runs and 12 RBIs in four games last weekend against Lincoln.
- 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 Panthers lead their series with Maryville by a 38-20 margin entering play Thursday.
- The two clubs split their four-game set last spring in St. Louis, but the Saints claimed three of four from the Panthers in their last trip to Springfield in April 2024.
- Drury has compiled a 23-9 mark vs. Maryville at home.
- DU is 26-19 against the Saints under Scott Nasby.
LAST TIME OUT
- The Panthers used another big day from their offense to complete a four-game GLVC series sweep of Lincoln with an 18-6 victory Sunday afternoon in Jefferson City.
- Drury scored in all seven innings and overcame an early one-run deficit by plating 10-straight runs over a three-inning stretch to establish a double-digit lead.
- Connor Bain and Jackson Crider drove in three runs apiece to lead the Drury offense, which totaled at least 18 runs for the third time in the series.
- Bain led the Drury offense with a 3-for-5 afternoon, capping a weekend in which he drove in 12 runs by going 9-for-15 (.600) with eight extra-base hits.
- Coleman Morrison (3-1) earned the victory after allowing just two earned runs on four hits over the first four innings.
BAIN TABBED FOR GLVC, MIDWEST REGION HONORS
- OF Connor Bain was selected as GLVC Player of the Week for the second time this season on Monday after hitting .600 with three home runs and 12 RBIs in four games against Lincoln last week.
- The senior from Troy, Ill., also picked up NCBWA Midwest Region Hitter of the Week recognition for the second time this year on Tuesday.
- Drury has now earned five weekly GLVC honors this season, while Bain's NCBWA citation is the third for a Panther in 2026.
CRIDER ON A TEAR
- INF Jackson Crider enters Thursday's series opener riding a career-best 15-game hit streak dating back to March 8.
- Crider has hit .464 with four home runs and 17 RBIs over the course of his streak, which ranks as the 11th longest in program history.
- He has also scored 26 times during the same stretch, including a current streak of at least one run scored in each of DU's last 11 games.
- Crider is the second Panther to record a lengthy hitting streak this season, as senior INF Logan Reidelberger registered a hit in Drury's first 18 games of the season to log the fourth-longest streak in program history
PANTHERS GET OFFENSIVE
- Drury enters the weekend with the No. 1 offense in the GLVC with its .348 team batting average and 350 total hits on the season, ranking ninth and 25th in the nation, respectively.
- DU leads the conference in doubles per game (2.76) and ranks second in both scoring (10.0) and slugging percentage (.544).
- The Drury offense caught fire over the course of a four-game win streak (Feb. 22-28) that saw the Panthers outscore the opposition by a combined 54-30 margin.
- The Panthers slugged .667 over the course of their streak, with 24 of their hits going for extra bases.
- DU batted a blistering .442 as a team, with eight different regulars hitting .421 or better during the same stretch, led by Greydon Miller's .563 average.
- Individually, Jackson Crider brings the No. 4 batting mark (.438) and third-best OBP (.546) in the GLVC into the weekend; he ranks second in hits per game (1.69) and leads the league in HBPs (16).
- Miller tied a DU single-game record with five runs scored in last Friday's series-opening win over Lincoln.
- Logan Reidelberger leads the GLVC in doubles (13) and doubles per game (0.46).
- Miller ranks second in the circuit and 12th in the nation with his four triples, while Luke Matschiner's 1.57 runs scored per game is the No. 10 average in all of Division II baseball.
LOOKING AHEAD
Drury will travel to Warrensburg, Mo., for its final non-conference midweek contest of the season Tuesday (April 7), when the Panthers square off against No. 7 Central Missouri at 3 p.m. at Crane Stadium.
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.
#OneDrury
