DALLAS -- While taking a stroll through Southwest Dallas on Spur 408 -- dubbed Patriot Parkway in conjunction with the DFW National Cemetery and Dallas Baptist University -- it wouldn't be difficult to confuse DBU's campus as a church from afar, perhaps a part of Bishop T.D. Jakes' megachurch just down the road, The Potter's House.
But as you drive up to the university, set on a hill that cannot be hidden, the old-fashioned announcements board on campus that you'd typically see on chapel grounds reads an unfamiliar phrase: "WELCOME CONGRATS PATRIOT BASEBALL NCAA REGIONAL CHAMPS."
In its sixth season as a Division I baseball program -- the school's only D-I sport -- DBU will play in its first super regional game Saturday against California, and it will arguably be the biggest stage it's ever set foot on.
"It's great for the school," said outfielder Jason Krizan, who broke the NCAA season doubles record and is a national player of the year candidate. "It helps the program in the future. It gets the Dallas Baptist name out there and most importantly it gives us the opportunity, on a bigger scale, to glorify God."
This is the second at-large postseason bid DBU has received as a D-I independent. The program has relied on homegrown players overlooked by other baseball powerhouses in Texas. Since the 2004 season, 89 recruits have come from the Lone Star State.
Despite a disadvantage in the recruiting process for the former NAIA school, 133 DBU players have been drafted or signed to professional contracts. That list includes 11 major leaguers, including 2009 All-Star Ben Zobrist and 2010 World Series champion Freddy Sanchez.
Now that they're in front of a national audience, the Patriots might also be wearing a glass slipper during this postseason. DBU has the third-lowest undergraduate enrollment for a school reaching this round since the super regionals were instituted in 1999. Sports fans often root for the little guy, and the Patriots' website has seen a 1,000 percent increase in traffic during the team's Cinderella run.
"Seeing DBU make a run like that would have to be a huge help in recruiting," reliever Chris Haney said, "because when I was a Metroplex guy making my visits in the area, a few of the other schools I was talking to had conferences and that was only one of the big differences between DBU and some of the schools I was looking at."
DBU noticed a jump in recruiting since its first at-large bid in 2008. The Patriots think they should expect another exponential growth in talent with so many eyes on them in the super regionals.
"It adds a ton of credibility to our program," coach Dan Heefner said. "I think there's been great things going on in the DBU baseball program for years and there's a lot of people in the area and in Texas that have a lot of respect for our program. … Taking this next step will broaden that to people around the country, knowing what a special place this is and how unique it is."
Master Tesfatsion covers colleges for ESPNDallas.com
