Eagles baseball opens up season with three wins

Photo by: Henoc Kivuye

 

After a slight delay due to cold and snow, Oklahoma Christian University’s men’s baseball team went two-for-three in its season opener against Pittsburg State University.

The Eagles were originally set to play longtime rivals Southern Nazarene University for their season opener last weekend; however, poor weather conditions postponed the game.

“I’ve never been more excited for a season to start,” senior outfielder Caleb Price said. “We’ve been all cooped up inside due to the weather and we were ready to let loose on another team.”

Price wasn’t the only player ready to take the field for the season opener.

“The delay has been killing us,” senior pitcher Kacy Cook said. “From the time of the spring semester ’till the season starts is the slowest part of the year.”

According to the players, the Eagles have been working hard to prepare for the season.

“We prepared as well as possible according to weather,” Price said. “This team has a special kind of work ethic, and each individual feeds off the hard work of the other.”

Cook agreed, but added that practice can only go so far.

“We’ve gone the whole year scrimmaging and practicing,” Cook said. “Playing teams and having actual competition gives us an energy boost.”

The Eagles beat the Pirates 9-4. Senior Brandon Pierce opened the game and pitched seven innings to be relieved by freshman Zach Loomis in the eighth inning. Junior Garrett Guys closed the game in the ninth inning.

Statistically, defense also performed well, specifically seniors second baseman Cory Eastwood and shortstop A.J. Florence.

Senior Blake Stringer scored the Eagles’ first home run of the season in the third inning.

On Saturday the Eagles won the first game of their doubleheader by an 8-1 lead. Junior Kelby Reneau pitched five innings, only giving up four hits and one run. Junior Dillon Endicott came in as the closer to relieve Reneau.

The second game proved more challenging for the Eagles, as Oklahoma Christian pitchers beamed eight batters and walked four others. The Eagles lost to Pittsburg State 12-2 in the second game of the doubleheader. Senior Tyler Sturges started off pitching for the Eagles in the second game, relieved by his younger brother, sophomore Dylon Sturges. Dylon Sturges was one strike away from getting Oklahoma Christian out of a jam; however, Pittsburg State’s Kyle Dickens hit a grand slam sending the Pirates into a 5-0 lead. The Pirates extended their lead to 7-0 at the top of the sixth.

“The team played very well this weekend, and I feel like the coaches did a great job preparing us for the opening series,” Price said. “We won our first two games handily with solid pitching performances and some hot bats. We dropped the last game, but hey, it’s baseball; you can’t win them all.”

Oklahoma Christian faced Southwestern Oklahoma State University (SWOSU) on Tuesday in Weatherford, Okla.

“We’re going to be looking to get back on the winning train as a team,” Price said before the game.  “Pitch consistently, get the bats going and hopefully come home with a win.”

The Eagles did just that, rolling to a solid 13-7 victory to improve 3-1 on their year.

“We cleaned house from the year before. We started with 80 percent of new guys, with new coaching staff, and made the program head into a new direction,” junior Caden Cleveland said. “We brought in guys who knew how to focus on the game and had been at different levels so they knew how to approach the game.”

The Eagles started their season strong, and look to have a repeat of last year’s success.

“As a team, our goals are to become closer in our team chemistry,” Price said, “Win every weekend series, take care of business on the road, win our own regional and ultimately win the whole thing in Ohio.”

According to players, the team’s plan is to make it to the College World Series again; however, they will face tough teams along the way.

“One of our biggest competitors is St. Edward’s,” Cook said. “They really impressed me last year. They are one of the best teams.”

With the Hilltoppers making a strong presence in the Heartland Conference each season, Cook isn’t the only player that said St. Edward’s will be a good team to play.

“Typically the two tough teams in our conference are St. Mary’s and St. Edward’s,” Price said. “We play them three times apiece, so that’ll be some fun ones.”

The Eagles’ home opener was a doubleheader on Friday, Feb. 21 against Heartland Conference rivals St. Edward’s at Dobson Field at noon, followed by another game on Saturday at noon.

Oklahoma Christian split Friday’s games with St. Edwards, picking up a win in the second game after losing the first game 5-2.

On Saturday, the Eagles held a 3-0 lead for six innings, until the Hilltoppers went on a five-run streak in the seventh inning. Oklahoma Christian was unable to recover the lead, and dropped their second game against St. Edward’s 5-3.