SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Drury baseball will close out its 2026 home slate this weekend with a critical GLVC series against Rockhurst, beginning with a 5 p.m., contest Friday (April 24). The Panthers and Hawks will also square off in a 1 p.m., doubleheader Saturday, before concluding the weekend with a Noon game Sunday on Mark Worley Field at Meador Park.
The Panthers (26-16, 17-7 GLVC) are riding a seven-game home win streak that has moved them into a four-way tie for second place in the conference's regular-season standings. Drury swept a four-game set from Upper Iowa and has won 13 of its last 16 GLVC games dating back to March 27.
Rockhurst (27-13, 15-9 GLVC) enters the weekend on a four-game win streak after sweeping Truman State last weekend in Kansas City. The Hawks sit just two games behind the Panthers in the league standings, tied with UIndy for the sixth spot in the regular-season race.
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.
Additionally, audio broadcasts for most Drury home baseball games in 2026 will be streamed online through the DU All-Access button via DruryPanthers.com. Fans may access the audio streams by visiting the 2026 schedule page for the Panthers and selecting the "Listen" link, or via the DU All Access button located on the home page.
PROMOTIONS
- Alumni Day (Saturday) - Drury is celebrating 20 years of NCAA Division II baseball and all Panthers alumni and their families are invited to celebrate the history and tradition of the program, beginning with pre-game food and beverages provided by Wil Fischer Distributors (12 p.m.).
- Senior Day (Sunday) - Panthers will honor all graduating seniors and their families in an on-field ceremony prior to the start of Sunday's series finale.
LEADING OFF
- Drury closes out its 2026 home slate with a four-game GLVC series against Rockhurst this weekend on Mark Worley Field at Meador Park.
- The Panthers are celebrating their 20th season in 2026 and bring an overall program record of 569-426-1 into Friday's contest.
- Drury is led by 14th-year head coach Scott Nasby, who has compiled an overall mark of 393-292-1 as the Panthers' all-time winningest coach.
- Drury leads the GLVC in hitting (.348) and double plays turned (29), while its .968 team fielding percentage ranks second in the conference.
- DU has gone 13-3 over its last 16 GLVC contests, hitting .380 and averaging 9.5 runs per game and fielding at a .983 clip with just eight errors.
- The Panthers climbed one spot to No. 5 in this week's NCBWA Midwest Region rankings.
- LHP Anthony Vita has been lights out during conference play, logging a 5-0 mound mark with a 1.74 ERA over six GLVC appearances, including the first complete-game shutout by a Panther since Nick Gales blanked William Jewell on two hits on March 8, 2025.
- INF Jackson Crider ranks as DU's career leader in hitting (.411), on-base percentage (.524) and slugging percentage (.637).
- OF Greydon Miller brings an 11-game hitting streak into Friday's series opener; the junior has batted .500 (19-for-38) during the streak.
- 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 bring a 47-23 overall record against Rockhurst into Friday's series opener.
- Drury and Rockhurst split a four-game set last March in Kansas City, but DU has claimed 11 of the last 14 games in the series dating back to 2022.
- This weekend's series will mark the Hawks' first trip to Meador Park since 2015, when the Panthers swept a four-game set.
- Drury is 14-4 all-time against the Hawks at Meador Park, and 26-7 overall at home vs. RU.
LAST TIME OUT
- Connor Bain drove in a career-best six runs to help Drury score 10 of the final 11 runs en route to a 14-7 comeback victory over Upper Iowa that completed a GLVC series sweep Sunday.
- Bain's three-run home run in the bottom of the fifth inning erased a 6-4 Upper Iowa lead and put the Panthers on top to stay; the senior outfielder added a run-scoring hit in Drury's five-run sixth, then plated two more with a two-out single in the seventh to help ice the victory -- as well as a series sweep that moved the Panthers into a four-way tie for the No. 2 position in the GLVC regular-season standings.
- After going homerless in each of the first three games of the series, Drury powered up to club three round-trippers in the finale, including Bain's 21st career home run with one out in the fifth that put DU on top, 7-6.
SENIOR SENDOFF
- The Panthers will honor their 13 graduating seniors, as well as three undergraduates who will complete their Drury degrees this spring, prior to Sunday's series finale with Rockhurst.
- DU will recognize seniors Luke Matschiner, Connor Bain, Logan Reidelberger, Cameron Robertson, Carter Wambach, Markell Dixon, Sam Peterson, Landon Willbrand, Jacob House, Zach Ericsson, Gage Hayes, Nick Panagos and Joey Funk, as well as juniors Greydon Miller and Caiden Otte and redshirt sophomore Jackson Crider.
- Drury's on-field Senior Day ceremony will kick off at approximately 11:40 a.m. on Mark Worley Field.
HOME, SWEET HOME
- Drury enters its final four home games of the season riding a seven-game Mark Worley Field win streak, dating back to April 3.
- Over the course of the Panthers' streak, Connor Bain has hit a blistering .591 (13-for-22) with 12 RBIs to pace the DU offense, while the Panthers pitching staff has combined to limit the opposition to a .229 average and just 4.0 runs per game.
- The Panthers are 10-2 at home in GLVC play this season and 15-6 at Meador Park overall in 2026.
- DU, which is 44-30 on Mark Worley Field since returning to the facility in 2024, won its 200th game at Meador Park with Sunday's victory over Upper Iowa.
- In 12 seasons at Meador Park (2007-15; 2024-26), the Panthers have compiled a 200-103 overall mark at the facility.
- Drury is hitting .347 and slugging .544 as a team, while averaging 9.2 runs per contest in its 21 home games this spring.
- Greydon Miller has been DU's most prolific hitter at home, going 36-for-80 (.450) at Mark Worley Field, and Jackson Crider has belted seven of his eight home runs at home this season.
- On the mound, Caden Crask-Weeks has gone 1-0 with a 2.93 ERA and one save, while striking out 25 hitters in 15.1 innings over five total appearances at home.
- Additionally, freshman relievers Hayden Linton and Landon Martin have posted sub-4.00 ERA's at Mark Worley Field, with each logging 3.68 marks at home this season.
VENI, VITA, VICI
- Freshman LHP Anthony Vita continued his emergence as one of the GLVC's top rookie hurlers with his second-consecutive complete-game last Saturday vs. Upper Iowa -- a two-hit shutout in a 6-0 Drury victory.
- Vita has been lights out during conference play, logging a 5-0 mound mark with a 1.74 ERA over six GLVC appearances, including the first complete-game shutout by a Panther since Nick Gales blanked William Jewell on two hits on March 8, 2025.
- The Joliet, Ill., product leads all GLVC freshmen with his five mound victories.
PANTHERS PUTTING UP NUMBERS
- Drury enters the weekend with the No. 1 offense in the GLVC with its .348 team batting average and 491 total hits on the season, ranking 10th and 21st in the nation, respectively.
- DU leads the conference in doubles per game (2.57) and ranks third in on-base percentage (.444) and slugging percentage (.527).
- The Panthers also rank among the GLVC's best defensive teams, bringing a .968 fielding percentage into this weekend's series; Drury has turned a league-best 29 double plays as well.
- Individually, Jackson Crider brings the No. 7 OBP (.495) in the GLVC into the weekend; he leads the league in HBPs (21).
- Connor Bain ranks fourth among all GLVC hitters with his .419 average, while his average of 1.59 hits per game leads the circuit; Bain also rates fifth in the league in RBIs (52).
- Greydon Miller brings an 11-game hitting streak into Friday's game; the junior has batted .500 (19-for-38) during the streak and ranks third in the GLVC with a team-leading four triples, while his 62 hits are tied for sixth in the conference.
- Logan Reidelberger ranks fifth in the GLVC in hits (64), while his 17 doubles rank second in the circuit; the senior also ranks as the 10th-toughest player in the GLVC to strike out, fanning only once every 9.9 at-bats.
- Luke Matschiner's 1.34 runs scored per game is the fifth-best figure in the GLVC; Matschiner also ranks second in the GLVC in steals (27).
LOOKING AHEAD
Drury concludes the 2026 regular season with a four-game series against Southwest Baptist next weekend in Bolivar, beginning with a 5 p.m. contest on Thursday (April 30).
Fans may purchase 2026 single-game seats for each of this weekend's games 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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