Vita
Terry Griffin
0
Upper Iowa UIU 15-22, 8-12 GLVC
6
Winner Drury DU 24-16, 15-7 GLVC
Upper Iowa UIU
15-22, 8-12 GLVC
0
Final
6
Drury DU
24-16, 15-7 GLVC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Upper Iowa UIU 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 1
Drury DU 2 0 1 1 2 0 X 6 11 0

W: Vita, Anthony (5-0) L: Dylan Hesch (3-3)

1
Upper Iowa UIU 15-23, 8-13 GLVC
5
Winner Drury DU 25-16, 16-7 GLVC
Upper Iowa UIU
15-23, 8-13 GLVC
1
Final
5
Drury DU
25-16, 16-7 GLVC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Upper Iowa UIU 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 3 0
Drury DU 0 0 0 2 1 2 X 5 8 0

W: Crask-Weeks, Caden (1-3) L: Kyle Hrncir (3-2) S: Mercer, Trayce (2)

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

Dominant Pitching Performances Lift Panthers to Doubleheader Sweep

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — Drury baseball rode a pair of dominant mound efforts to a doubleheader sweep of Upper Iowa Saturday afternoon, clinching a Great Lakes Valley Conference series win with a 6-0 game one victory, before rallying for a 5-1 decision in the nightcap on Mark Worley Field at Meador Park.

Anthony Vita (5-0) tossed his second consecutive complete-game victory with a two-hit shutout of the Peacocks in Saturday's opening contest. The freshman lefty needed just 86 pitches to lock up the victory and allowed just two UIU singles and only five total baserunners.

Fellow left-hander Caden Crask-Weeks (1-3) followed Vita's lead in game two, as the junior struck out a career-high eight hitters while holding the Peacocks hitless through 3 2/3 innings. In all, Crask-Weeks scattered three hits and permitted just one run -- the lone UIU tally of the day -- on a two-out triple in the fourth, before Trayce Mercer wrapped up the victory with two perfect innings of relief.

At the plate, Connor Bain delivered another strong offensive performance with a critical two-run double in the first game, before sparking DU's go-ahead rally in the fourth inning of game two. 

Game 1 - Drury 6, Upper Iowa 0
Vita was in control throughout the opening game, retiring 11 of the first 13 UIU hitters of the day while the Drury offense built a three-run cushion.

Bain provided the big blow with his one-out double in the home half of the first that plated the first two Drury runs, after Luke Matschiner and Logan Reidelberger came through with hits to spark the rally.

Greydon Miller expanded the DU lead to 3-0 with his sacrifice fly in the third following a Jackson Crider single and back-to-back walks to Reidelberger and Bain. Matschiner added a two-out, RBI-single in the fourth, and the Panthers put the game on iced with a two-run fifth. Reidelberger ignited the rally with his second double of the game, before coming around on Miller's base hit and a Peacock error. Colin McClure capped the scoring with his two-out, run-scoring single.

Vita issued just a pair of walks over the first three frames and wouldn't allow a hit until Jared Hoodjer's two-out single in the fourth. Hunter Jones led off the UIU fifth with a single for the only other Peacock hit of the game. Vita promptly retired the next three hitters in succession and faced the minimum from that point on to earn his fifth win as a Panther.

Reidelberger led the offense with a 2-for-3 day and two runs scored, while Matschiner, Crider and Miller also logged multi-hit efforts.

Game 2 - Drury 5, Upper Iowa 1
Crask-Weeks and Upper Iowa's Kyle Hrncir engaged in a game two pitcher's duel that wouldn't be decided until the late innings. Jackson Edwards' two-out, two-run double in the bottom of the fourth flipped the scoreboard in favor of the Panthers, before Crask-Weeks and Mercer combined to retire nine of the next 10 UIU hitters to secure the victory and the doubleheader sweep.

Crask-Weeks (1-3) worked out of a pair of tight spots to keep the Panthers in the contest, using three consecutive strikeouts to strand a pair of Peacocks in the second after issuing back-to-back walks to start the inning. He induced a rally-killing 3-6 double-play grounder in the third, then fanned the side once more to limit UIU to one run in the fourth.

Hrncir was equally as impressive for the Peacocks (15-23, 8-13 GLVC) in the early stages of the contest, striking out a pair of Panthers to strand two runners in the first en route to retiring eight straight DU hitters. 

Drury (25-16, 16-7 GLVC) finally broke through in the fourth on back-to-back singles by Bain and Miller. With two out, Edwards then drove the first pitch he saw just beyond the reach of Paul Safranski in left to chase home both DU baserunners for a 2-1 Panther lead.

One inning later Landon Willbrand reached on a hit-by-pitch to open the fifth, and Reidelberger came through with a clutch two-out hit to bring the runner home from second for a 3-1 DU lead.

The Panthers put two more insurance runs on the board in the sixth, using three-straight two-out hits to accomplish the task. McClure and Willbrand once again played key roles with their run-producing hits to cap the rally.

After Crask-Weeks finished his day with a scoreless fifth, Mercer slammed the door shut on the Peacocks by retiring all six hitters he faced. The junior struck out two batters in his two perfect frames to lock up his second save of the season.

Edwards led Drury at the plate with his 2-for-3 effort and two RBIs.

In all, Drury pitching struck out 13 hitters in the twin bill while yielding just one run on five hits, only one of which went for extra bases.

LOOKING AHEAD
The Panthers and Peacocks will wrap up their weekend series Sunday with a single nine-inning contest beginning at Noon.

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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