THE RUNDOWN
No. 11 DBU (45-13, 25-5) clinched a berth in the Conference USA Tournament finale with a 5-0 victory over Western Kentucky (33-26, 16-14) at Recking Park on Saturday afternoon. All but one of the Patriots' runs came via the long ball.
 
After a scoreless first inning, Grant Jay was hit by a pitch to lead off the second. On the next pitch, Miguel Santos homered to left field for a quick 2-0 lead for DBU.
 
Two innings later, Grant Jay once again started the batting for the Patriots, but this time, he sent a long shot that hit the scoreboard in right field to stretch the margin to three runs.
 
With only one hit through four innings, the Hilltoppers' Tristin Garcia singled to lead off the top of the fifth and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Just as WKU seemed to gain some momentum, Kodie Kolden made a spectacular fielding play to put a halt to the progress, and Zach Heaton forced another two outs in succession to end the frame.
 
Kolden worked his way around the bases in the bottom of the fifth via walk, a stolen base, a productive groundout, and a wild pitch to score DBU's fourth unanswered run.
 
Heaton was exceptional for the Patriots in his 6.2 innings of work, as he faced just three more than the minimum before he handed the ball to Brady Rose, who would go on to earn his first save of 2023.
 
Ethan Mann hit a solo shot in the eighth to tack on an additional insurance run in the eighth. It would complete the scoring in a 5-0 win for DBU.
 
THREE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW
- DBU reaches the final of a conference tournament for the sixth time in the last seven complete seasons.
- Zach Heaton had one of the best outings of his career, throwing a career-high 6.2 innings while allowing only three hits and one walk and striking out five batters.
- Kodie Kolden's fifth inning stolen base increases his career-best mark to 20 this season.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
20 - Ethan Mann's 20th home run of the year means he and Grant Jay are the first pair of Patriots to hit in a season since at least 2011. (Available data goes back as far as the 2012 season.)
45 - DBU's 45 wins are one shy of tying the program record for wins in a season set by the 2015 squad.
603 - The Patriots' 603 strikeouts on the year set a new single-season record.
 
DAN HEEFNER ON ZACH HEATON
"[His performance] was really fun to watch. Seeing him from the very beginning, thinking back to what he was like when he came into DBU, just a DBU guy in every way—great teammate, good worker, shows up every day to get his work in, and then, when he's not pitching, he's the best guy in the dugout. So, to see him step it up and have one of the best games of his career in the postseason was really fun to watch."
 
UP NEXT
The Patriots advance to the Conference USA Tournament championship game to face the winner of Charlotte versus Middle Tennessee. The title game is scheduled for a 1:00 pm start at Reckling Park. Read Full Article