THE RUNDOWN
The No. 14 Patriots (47-15) knocked off Washington (35-20) in an elimination game on Sunday to advance to the Stillwater Regional final. Braxton Bragg shined on the mound, punching out 10 Huskies in 7.2 innings of work while allowing only one run and no walks.
 
Both starting pitchers kept their respective opponents at bay until the third inning when DBU broke through. Washington's starter, Jared Engman, quickly induced two groundouts, but Luke Heefner drew a walk to begin a string of six Patriots reaching base. Heefner crossed the plate on a Kodie Kolden single, which was immediately followed by a Nathan Humphreys three-run home run to give DBU a 4-0 lead.
 
After giving up two hits in the first inning, Braxton Bragg prevented the Huskies from reaching base in innings two through five.
 
In the sixth, the Patriot offense pieced together another four-run frame. Miguel Santos led off the inning with a single and subsequently stole second base. Tom Poole walked behind him, and the two runners advanced to second and third on a sacrifice bunt by Nate Rombach. George Specht then slammed a double to score the two runners. Luke Heefner would drive in Specht on a single and score himself from third base on a wild pitch.
 
Up, 8-0, DBU tacked on an additional run in the next inning via an RBI single courtesy of Rombach to push across Santos from second base.
 
Bragg's streak of 17 consecutive retired batters was broken in the seventh inning when AJ Guerrero tripled to right field. Johnny Tincher hit a sacrifice fly in the next plate appearance to score his teammate for the Huskies' lone run of the game.
 
Cole Reeves relieved Bragg with two outs in the eighth and went on to throw an impressive 1.1 no-hit innings to finish the game for the Patriots.
 
THREE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW
- DBU advances to its seventh regional final in the last eight seasons.
- Jace Grady stole his 25th bag of the year, tying his career high and placing him fourth on the program's list for stolen bases in a season.
- Braxton Bragg retired 17 consecutive batters from the first to the seventh inning.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
47 - The Patriots' 47 wins set a new program record for wins in a season.   
3 - Miguel Santos' three hits give him back-to-back games with at least three hits.
10 - Braxton Bragg's 10 strikeouts are the most ever by a Patriot in an NCAA postseason game.
 
UP NEXT
DBU advances to the Stillwater Regional final to face Oral Roberts on Sunday at 8:00 pm. Read Full Article