OMAHA, Neb. –– Sitting in front of his locker during media day at the 2018 College World Series, North Carolina third baseman Kyle Datres had one eye on the crowd surrounding his team and the other on his prized possession: one of the most notable belts in college baseball, the DOSE belt.
I know what you’re thinking, what exactly is the DOSE belt?
“The belt. The DOSE belt. It started with me and Dallas [Tessar] coming up with something for everyone who gets hit by a pitch, to kind of motivate the guys to stay in there and get the free base,” Datres, the current owner of the belt said. “We went a little extra and above and beyond and created the WWE belt custom to UNC.”RELATED: How to watch the CWS | | Highlights and videos from CWS
“We got a bunch of pictures of guys getting hit by pitches and stuff on the side just to have a little present for getting hit by a pitch.”
If you see any camera shots of the Tar Heel dugout, you’ll most likely see their DOSE board, too. There's even a scoreboard with different categories with a point system to determine the belt’s true owner.
“We have a bunch of different categories, they’re all worth different points.” Datres added. “So, when the ball is coming at you, hopefully everything going on (in your head) is ‘I want the belt!'"
RELATED: Scores, bracket and live updates from the 2018 CWS
There’s a reason Datres, the first-team All-ACC third baseman, owns the belt. He leads UNC with 12 hit by pitches this year. And he’s not ducking out of any pitches coming his way. He takes too much pride with holding the belt.