SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - McKendree University baseball (6-13, 1-0 GLVC) opened its weekend series and its Great Lakes Valley season with a win over the 24th-ranked Drury Panthers (15-6, 0-1 GLVC), scoring nine runs in the fifth through ninth innings. The Bearcats were led by junior outfielder Katom Parnell, who collected three hits with three RBIs and two runs scored. McKendree snapped a three-game losing streak against the Panthers with the victory and won the first matchup between the two since 2019. 

McKendree went down early by a score of 3-0 to the hosting-Panthers but the fifth inning proved to be the starter for the Bearcats. McKendree cut the lead to just one run in the fifth after senior infielder Joseph Costanzo dropped a single into left which drove in Parnell for the visiting-Bearcats' first run of the day. Senior infielder Alex Steinbach pushed in the second run of the game with a single to center which led freshman infielder Gavin Arseneau to home plate. 

McKendree took the lead in the sixth with a triple by the junior Parnell, getting graduate outfielder Ryan Hutchinson and sophomore outfielder Joseph Copeland home. With the two-run triple, the Bearcats took a 4-3 lead over No.24 Drury. 

The eighth and ninth led to another offensive spark for McKendree with Parnell knocking in redshirt junior Austin Francis to begin the eighth. Hutchinson scored next behind an Arseneau sacrifice fly to right field before Costanzo brought Parnell in via right field single. The eighth pushed the lead to 7-3 in favor of the Bearcats. 

McKendree added another pair of insurance runs in the ninth behind a sacrifice fly by graduate catcher Mason Hale, which brought Hutchinson in, and a solo shot to right field by Copeland. The comeback attempt by Drury in the bottom of the ninth ended short after the Panthers scored a pair of runs, making the outing 9-5 in favor of McKendree.

Junior pitcher Garrett Herring earned the win with 5.0 innings tossed, eight strikeouts, and three earned runs with 20 batters faced. 

UP NEXT
McKendree will be back on the field on Saturday, March 26, at U.S. Baseball Park for a double-header with the Panthers. Game one will begin at 12 P.M. with game two beginning approximately 30 minutes after the conclusion of the first contest. Both games of the double-header will be seven innings.

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