Lake Looks to Continue Success Into his 5th Season for OC Baseball

Fifth-year shortstop, Grant Lake, is set to end his Oklahoma Christian baseball career with a bang as the 2023 season nears. 

On Friday, Feb. 3, the Eagles will open their season at Dobson Field against the University of Texas-Tyler. Lake and the rest of the team are trying to prove something they admittedly fell short of last season. 

“We wanted to take this program to the next level last year and honestly fell a bit short of our goal,” Lake said. “We are trying to create a different feeling at the end of this season.”

The Eagles finished last year with a 21-27 conference record only to lose in the first round of playoffs for the second straight season to West Texas A&M. 

Over the past few seasons, the Oklahoma Christian baseball program has shown new potential. They finished top four in the Lone Star Conference in 2021 and received NCAA division II top 25 votes for the first time in team history.

Lake has been a regular on the left side of the infield since his freshman year, where he hit .276 and appeared in 27 games. 

Since then, Lake has played nearly every inning of Eagle baseball, starting all 51 games in 2022. He finished last season with a career-high of 47 in hits and seven home runs. 

“I just try to fulfill my role, whatever that may be, year to year,” Lake said. “I pride myself in being as consistent as possible day in and day out.” 

This season especially, Lake has been more than an everyday player. He has grown into the locker room leader, providing a presence for younger guys to look up to. 

Assistant coach, Matthew Conerly, spoke on Lakes’ leadership this season. 

“He is the leader of the locker room; he knows when to speak up and when to lead solely by example,” Conerly said. “He has a tremendous pulse of knowing exactly what the team needs.”

Lake credits his ability to fulfill a leadership role this year to experience.

“Over my five years here, I have matured, seen and experienced a lot,” Lake said. “Whether it is in-game situations or how to rally the team when we are down, I have seen other guys do it before me and that is what prepared me for this time around.” 

With just seven days remaining until his fifth and final season, Lake is taking everything one day at a time and is not looking to anything that lies ahead.

“I’m just trying to take things slow. It’s a long season and we can’t look ahead to future games, series’, rankings or anything like that,” Lake said. “We are experienced, talented, hungry to win and as capable as anyone in the country.” 

The Eagles will start their season at 3 p.m. at home on Feb. 3.