It was a bitter end to a magical run for OSU, which captured the Pac-12 title by six games over Stanford. The Beavers came up three wins shy of a third national title.

“My job was to make sure that the guys understood what they accomplished, but also allow them to think that we all wanted more, and that’s OK too,” coach Pat Casey said. “But I don’t want them to think that they weren’t successful in what they did because they were phenomenal last season. They just did a great job and they came out and played like champions every game.

“I’ve never seen a team that found a way to win every close game, and the record reflects what it is. It was a really terrific bunch of guys that got together that had a passion for winning, a passion for working and a passion to play the game of baseball. They were awesome.”

Kwan regularly received comments from curious observers during the Cape Cod League season. Many wanted to know how a college baseball team could win 56 of 62 games while playing in one of the country’s top conferences.

As the pain from the disappointing finish slowly dissipated, Kwan began to reflect on the historic season.