DALLAS (Interstat) — Jake Bennett launched a walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth inning Thursday, lifting Dallas Baptist to a 6-5 victory over Oral Roberts in a nonconference baseball game at Ellis Davis Field House.

The Patriots’ designated hitter drove a 1-0 pitch from Oral Roberts reliever K. Ferris over the fence in left-center field, capping a back-and-forth contest that saw Dallas Baptist erase an early four-run deficit. The win improved the Patriots to 6-3 overall, while the Golden Eagles fell to 3-6.

The most critical sequence of the game occurred in the late innings, transforming a contest that appeared destined for extra innings into a sudden finish. After Oral Roberts had clawed back to take a 5-4 lead in the top of the eighth inning, Dallas Baptist third baseman Cooper Neville responded with a game-tying solo home run in the bottom of the frame. That set the stage for Bennett’s final at-bat an inning later. With one swing, he turned a tightly pitched relief duel into a celebratory mob scene at home plate, fulfilling the projections of Interstat’s game simulator, which had predicted a 6-4 Dallas Baptist win and gave the Patriots a 74.1% probability of victory pregame.

Oral Roberts had seized control from the outset, pushing across five runs in the top of the first inning before Dallas Baptist starter Russ Smith could record an out. The Golden Eagles sent 10 batters to the plate, capitalizing on early command issues and defensive miscues to build a substantial lead. Dallas Baptist began its methodical comeback in the second inning, scoring once on an RBI single from Keaton Grady. They added another run in the fourth on a sacrifice fly from Neville and two more in the fifth, tying the game at 4-4 on a run-scoring groundout by A. Berghult and a two-run single by C. Krauss.

The Golden Eagles’ bullpen, led by a stellar performance from Jack Hill, nearly secured the road victory. Hill entered in the fifth inning and delivered four shutout frames, allowing no hits and just one earned run while striking out one. His effort preserved a 5-4 lead after Oral Roberts scored single runs in the sixth and eighth innings, the latter coming on an RBI single by M. Davis that scored C. Kelly, who had tripled.

Dallas Baptist’s relief corps, however, matched the zeroes. After starter Russ Smith went 5 1/3 innings, allowing four earned runs on seven hits, Avery Duncan and Liam Watt navigated through the seventh and eighth. JT Long earned the win with a dominant ninth, striking out the side after entering with two runners on base and no outs, keeping the game tied and setting up Bennett’s heroics.

Offensively, Oral Roberts outhit Dallas Baptist 11 to 10, with center fielder Makani Tanaka and Davis each collecting two hits. For the Patriots, Grady went 2-for-5 with an RBI, while Neville’s 1-for-2 day included the crucial game-tying homer and two RBIs.

The two teams are scheduled to meet again Saturday at Ellis Davis Field House to conclude the brief two-game series. Oral Roberts will first host Air Force on Friday, while Dallas Baptist will also welcome Air Force to Dallas to begin a three-game set.