Page 86 - DBU Baseball 20-21 Media Guide

2020 SEASON IN REVIEW
COVID-19 Global Pandemic Halts Season in March
In a baseball season unlike any other, the 2020 collegiate baseball season was canceled in mid-March due to the COVID-19 global pandemic. 16 games into the season, DBU had posted a 12-4 record and was ranked as high as No. 21 in the nation by Baseball America before the season came to an end.
After a 5-4 win over Baylor in Waco, Texas, on March 11, news broke the following day that NCAA President Mark Emmert and the Board of Governors had made the determination to cancel the NCAA spring championships including the College World Series. Two days later, the Missouri Valley Conference also made the decision to cancel all intercollegiate competitions, including the MVC Championships.
In a year in which DBU had won a series at then-ranked No. 13 North Carolina and was out to a 12-4 start, the Patriots’ record through 16 games was tied for the third-best start in the program’s Division I era dating back to 2004. With the 2020 season canceled, the attention turned to the summer where 23 players from DBU competed in summer collegiate leagues across the nation in preparation to return to campus in the fall.
Horner Heroics
field scored Jace Grady and Austin Bell as the Patriots claimed the series over the Jackrabbits.
On February 28 versus Arkansas State, the Patriots found themselves in another extra-inning affair. Once again, DBU trailed by a run going into their half of the 10th when the Patriots mounted their comeback. With the bases loaded and nobody out, Jimmy Glowenke delivered a two-run single to left field, handing DBU a 5-4 walk-off victory.
The Patriots’ final win in their last at-bat came on March 6 against Oral Roberts. Tied 2-2 in the bottom of the ninth, Blayne Jones ripped a two-out single down the left field line that plated Jackson Glenn and sent the Patriots pouring out of the dugout.
DBU would play in four games that were decided by one run during the shortened 2020 season and the Patriots posted a perfect 4-0 record in those games. DBU also compiled a 9-1 mark in games that were decided by three runs or less.
Hamel Garners National Pitcher of the Week Honors
In one of the all-time great pitching performances in school history, Dominic Hamel was named Collegiate Baseball’s National Pitcher of the Week after carrying a no-hitter into the eighth inning at No. 13 North Carolina on February 23. Hamel stymied the Tar Heels lineup, shutting out UNC for 7.0 innings and striking out a season-high 10 batters while issuing just one walk. The lone hit off of Hamel came in the eighth inning when he surrendered a lead-off single.
While the 2020 season only consisted of 16 games, the Patriots left fans with some great moments to remember including three walk-off wins at Horner Ballpark. The late-inning magic began on the second day of the season when DBU won an 11-inning thriller over South Dakota State. Trailing 7-6 in the bottom of the 11th, a double from Jackson Glenn that went to the wall in right
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