Josh Elander remembers.
And the junior catcher remembers when DBU beat TCU 3-2 in the Fort Worth Regional in June — the first of two losses that would eliminate the Frogs from the postseason and end their chances of returning to the College World Series.
Tonight, Elander will have the chance to start chipping away at that memory when the TCU baseball team hosts DBU.
Right-hander Jerrick Suiter will get the start on the mound for the Frogs as they try to rebound from an 11-0 loss to UNLV Sunday afternoon — their worst loss of the season.
Suiter, a true freshman, was not there for TCU’s losses to the Patriots last year, but Elander said he and the returning players from that squad had not forgotten about them.
“We don’t really care who we’re playing against,” Elander said. “But at the same time, us older guys have some bad blood with them because they came in here and embarrassed us at regionals.”
DBU, which competes at the Division II level in all sports except baseball, eventually went on to win the Fort Worth Regional, advancing to the Super Regional round against California before being eliminated by the Golden Bears.
And the Patriots’ success last year wasn’t a fluke.
In 2008 — just its third year as an NCAA program — DBU became the second independent school to earn an at-large berth to an NCAA regional. Before that, the Patriots won back-to-back National Christian College Athletic Association championships in 2003 and 2004.
Along the way, DBU has produced MLB All-Stars Freddy Sanchez of the San Francisco Giants and Ben Zobrist of the Tampa Bay Rays. Lance Broadway, who earned first team All-American honors as a pitcher in 2005, started his college career at DBU.
Point is, DBU (16-9) is a legitimate program despite not having the name recognition of bigger, more established schools.
Head coach Jim Schlossnagle said he did not want Frog fans to forget that. He and his team wouldn’t.
“They’re not underrated in our mind,” Schlossnagle said. “I think anybody that knows anything about college baseball has a lot of respect for DBU. They’re a Super Regional team. If you’re a fan who doesn’t pay attention, then you’d look down your nose at DBU, but that’s the wrong thing to do. They have a great program.”
TCU vs. Dallas Baptist
When: 6:30 tonight
Where: Lupton Stadium
TV: The Mtn.
Radio: KTCU-FM 88.7
GoFrogs.com: Follow Gametracker or listen live
Why it matters: The Frogs will try to recover from their worst loss of the season, an 11-0 blowout to Mountain West foe UNLV. Right-hander Jerrick Suiter is scheduled to make his second start of the season on the mound for TCU. Suiter, a true freshman, who has made 13 starts as a hitter this year, made his first career pitching start last week against University of Texas at Arlington. Suiter threw 4 and 2/3 innings and gave up one run on four hits in the Frogs’ 4-3 loss to the Mavericks.