Page 84 - 2024 DBU Baseball Media Guide

2023 SEASON IN REVIEW
DBU WINS CUSA TITLE & SETS PROGRAM RECORD FOR WINS
In their first season in Conference USA, the DBU Patriots clinched the league’s regular season title after boasting a 25-5 record versus conference opponents. The Patriots won all 10 of their CUSA series, including six sweeps during the 2024 season. Beginning with a 14-7 win over Louisiana Tech in Ruston, Louisiana, on April 1, the Patriots won 15 straight conference games to run away with the league title. In a three-game series between the top two teams in the league standings, DBU swept UTSA and clinched the CUSA regular season title on May 14. It also marked the 600th career win for Patriot head coach Dan Heefner. DBU went on to win a program record 47 games, breaking the previous record of 46 wins held by the 2015 team.
PATRIOTS ADVANCE TO NINTH STRAIGHT REGIONAL
DBU joined Florida, Oklahoma State, and Vanderbilt as one of only four teams in the nation to advance to the NCAA postseason
each of the last nine years when they punched their ticket as the No. 2 seed at the Stillwater Regional. After dropping their first game in Stillwater, Oklahoma, to the Washington Huskies, the Patriots fought their way back through the bracket, beginning with a dominating 18-4 win over No. 12 Oklahoma State. In the victory over the top-seeded Cowboys, DBU blasted six home runs, including three from Miguel Santos. The Patriots also defeated Washington, 9-1, behind a brilliant pitching performance from Braxton Bragg, who allowed just one run and struck out 10 over 7.2 innings to send DBU to their ninth regional final in the last 12 years. The Patriots’ historic season eventually ended in a 6-5 loss to No. 10 Oral Roberts.
FOUR PATRIOTS NAMED ALL-AMERICAN IN 2023
InThe Patriots set a program record with four players earning All-American honors after the 2023 season. Junior relief pitcher Kyle Amendt was the team’s lone First Team selection after garnering First Team honors from the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association. Amendt finished the season with a league-high 12 saves and struck out 51 batters over 25.2 innings while boasting a 1.75 ERA. Ethan Mann was tabbed a Second Team selection by Collegiate Baseball while also picking up Third Team honors from the American Baseball Coaches Association and NCBWA. As the team’s designated hitter, Mann hit .319 with 20 home runs and his 80 RBI were the 11th-most in the nation and second-most in a single season in
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