THE RUNDOWN
No. 14 DBU's (47-16) 2023 campaign came to an end on Sunday night in a 6-5 defeat to No. 10 Oral Roberts (49-11) in the Stillwater Regional final. Trailing, 4-1, Tom Poole and Nate Rombach hit back-to-back home runs for the Patriots in the sixth inning to reset the contest.
 
The Golden Eagles jumped out quickly with a two-out, two-RBI single from Holden Breeze in the first inning.
 
Miguel Santos answered in the second when he turned on a 3-1 pitch, homering to left center field.
 
Up, 2-1, ORU extended its lead to three via a Justin Quinn bases-loaded fielder's choice to score a runner from third base and an RBI single off the bat of Jonah Cox.
 
The pitching staffs for each squad took over for the next three innings as neither team put a run on the board for 18 outs.
 
The Patriots broke the dry spell in the sixth. Miguel Santos started the inning by legging out an infield single. Tom Poole, the batter behind Santos, drove in his teammate with a moon shot to left center field to lessen the deficit to one. On the next pitch, Nate Rombach sent a rocket over the left field wall to tie the game at four.
 
In the home half of the frame, Matt Hogan hit a homer of his own to break the tie and give the advantage back to the Golden Eagles, 6-4.
 
DBU placed runners on first and second with one out in the seventh to up Santos for his second RBI of the game, a single that put the game back within one.
 
Brady Rose and Kyle Amendt held ORU scoreless in the seventh and eighth innings, but the Patriots were unable to push a run across in the ninth to keep their postseason hopes alive.
 
The following players from DBU were named to the Stillwater Regional All-Tournament Team:
- 2B Miguel Santos
- 3B Kodie Kolden
- P Braxton Bragg
 
THREE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW
- DBU went 3-1 against ORU in 2023.
- The Patriots struck out at least nine batters in all four of their games in the Stillwater Regional.
- Miguel Santos was outstanding in the regional, recording multiple hits in all four games and hitting .600 (12-20) with 10 runs, 12 RBI, one double, four home runs, and two stolen bases.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
47 - DBU finished the year with 47 wins, a new program record for wins in a season.
4 - Four seniors completed their careers in a Patriot uniform on Sunday night: Zach Heaton, Kodie Kolden, Kyle Rich, and George Specht.
7 - The Patriots have advanced to a regional final in seven of the last eight seasons.

DAN HEEFNER ON THE 2023 TEAM
"I loved our team. This is one of the most fun teams I was ever a part of—just the work ethic, the type of teammates the guys were. All the way to the very end, they never [gave] up, never gave in, and enjoyed themselves. They truly played the game of baseball, which was really refreshing. Hate it for those guys, that they're done, but really appreciate what they did for our program and just how they continued the culture and even improved the culture of a great program.…
 
"Humility is a huge part of our program.… And these guys, they did that to a T. It was one of the most unselfish teams I've ever been a part of…. It was really fun to watch how much they enjoyed each other. They truly enjoyed each other and loved each other, which is what I'll take from this team." Read Full Article