DALLAS – Dallas Baptist scored three runs in the first inning and got a solid start from left-hander Liam Watt Friday at Horner Ballpark to take the series opener from Missouri State by a 5-4 final.
 
The Patriots (15-11, 5-2 Conference USA) piled up five hits in the first inning to build the 3-0 lead, and Watt (4-1) got off to an equally fast start by retiring the first 11 batters he faced.
 
DBU added a solo homer in the fifth before Mo State (16-8, 5-2) broke through on Gabe Roessler's home run to open the sixth. Brant Kragel was subsequently hit by a pitch and later scored on Taeg Gollert's fielder's choice for a 4-2 deficit.
 
In the bottom of the sixth, the home team turned a walk into a run to make it 5-2, and the Bears had one last rally in the eighth.
 
Roessler opened with a single and Kragel doubled to put both in scoring position, and Cermenelli and Gollert drove in each with successive ground outs for the 5-4 final. Cermenelli also extended his hitting streak to 12 games with a sixth-inning single.
 
Ross Felder (1-1) went four innings in his first career start, while Lance Wade, Sam Maclaughlin and Trent Ash tossed the final four frames and yielded a combined one run on three hits. The pitching staff walked just one batter.
 
Game two of the series is set for 3 p.m. Saturday.