ARKADELPHIA, Ark. - Senior right-hander Blake Evans allowed just one run over 5 1/3 innings and Harrison Waters and Dane Hughes drove in a pair of runs each as Drury defeated Upper Iowa 6-2 in a non-conference matchup here on Saturday morning.
Evans (1-0) was touched for just three hits and allowed only a single run, that coming in the second, when Upper Iowa took a 1-0 advantage.
But the Panthers answered in the bottom of the inning when Hughes singled to score Waters to tie it at 1-each, and then took the lead for good at 2-1 in the third when Waters' RBI single plated Justin Skinner.
Drury added two runs in the fifth to push the lead to 4-1 when Tino Robbins tripled and scored on a R.J. Knese RBI single, then Knese later scored on a sacrifice fly from Waters, whose two RBIs pushed his season total to a team-leading five through two games.
Waters, Hughes and Joe Rohlfing had two hits each for the Panthers. Drury also stole six bases in the contest, including a pair each by Rohlfing and Skinner.
Skinner picked up his first save of the year with a scoreless ninth.
The Panthers (1-1) will play Upper Iowa again at 10:30 a.m. Sunday, followed by a nine-inning game against host Ouachita Baptist.
Drury fans can access the radio broadcast of the contests and live stats at OBU's athletics website, www.obutigers.com/baseball
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