SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - McKendree University baseball (6-16, 1-3 GLVC) dropped its third-straight contest on Sunday afternoon, losing 8-6 to the 24th-ranked Drury Panthers (18-6, 3-1 GLVC) at U.S. Baseball Park. The Bearcats took game one of their Great Lakes Valley Conference-opening series over the host but were unable to keep pace with the Panthers in the final three games. 

The Bearcats opened up the series finale with a 1-0 lead as they exited the first inning. The first run of the game came from freshman infielder Gavin Arseneau after he walked to get on base as the lead-off. Arseneau was driven-in by senior outfielder Ryan Hutchinson via a double double the right field line. McKendree left a pair of runners on base at the conclusion of the first inning. 

Drury managed to tie the game in the bottom of the second off a RBI-double of its own. McKendree came back to re-take the lead in the top of the third with Hutchinson making it home off a single into left center by senior infielder Alex Steinbach. The second run of the half inning came via Steinbach scoring off a single to left by redshirt sophomore infielder Austin Francis. Drury then made quick work of tying the game, 3-3, once again by hitting a deep double to bring in two runs.

Drury captured its first lead of the game in the fourth, scoring two and taking a 5-3 advantage. 

With three-straight base runners to begin the fifth, the Bearcats flipped the game back in their favor with a 6-5 lead. Senior outfielder Corey Price began with a double while sophomore outfielder Joseph Copeland followed it up with a single, which pushed Price to third. Senior infielder Joseph Costanzo got on with a walk after Copeland, loading the bases. Price then scored off a single by Francis while Copeland made it home via an RBI-ground out by sophomore catcher Tommy Mohan. Costanzo proved to be the final and game-leading run (6-5) in the inning after junior outfielder Katom Parnell laid down a sacrifice bunt. 

Drury went on to score three unanswered runs, winning the final game of the series, 8-6, and the series itself, 3-1. 

UP NEXT
McKendree will be back on the field on Wednesday, March 30, for a non-conference, single game against Missouri S&T at 2 P.M. The Bearcats will then host Rockhurst for their GLVC home-opening series on Friday, April 1, at 2 P.M.

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