Oregon Institute of Technology Athletics

COMING UP: at Bushnell (DH), Friday, 2 p.m.; at Bushnell (DH), Saturday, 11 a.m.

COMPLETE WEEKLY MEDIA NOTEBOOK
 
WATCH / LISTEN LIVE: All four games of the Bushnell series will be carried on the Beacons Sports Network, while Live Stats will be available through the OIT SIDEARM Stats Portal.
 
HUSTLIN' OWLS HOLD CONFERENCE LEAD: With three weeks left in the regular-season, the Hustlin' Owls sit alone atop the Cascade Conference standings with a 12-4 record – one game clear of 11-5 British Columbia and three games clear of two 7-5 teams, Bushnell and College of Idaho. Tech will meet two of the teams – Bushnell and UBC – to close out the regular-season, with BU meeting OIT, C of I and LC State in their final three weekends, while UBC meets OIT at Corban. The winner of the regular-season will host the 4-team CCC Championships, May 6-8.
 
INSIDE THE RANKINGS: For the first time since baseball returned to OIT in 2002, the Owls have received votes in the NAIA Top-25 Coaches' Poll. Tech received 30 voter points from the 20 conference raters in the April 5 ballot – the sixth-highest total in the others' receiving votes category. In addition, the Owls rank No. 8 in the West Coast ARC rating – a key element in determining both at-large bids to the NAIA Championships and seeding within the tournament – however, dropped 39 spots to 67th in the most recent BoChip rating, posted this Monday.
 
BEST STARTS: The 25-13 start by the Hustlin' Owls equals the best 38-game start in program history – equaling the record first established by the 1982 squad. Last season, OIT opened 24-14 – improving to a school-best 15-games over .500 (29-14) – before finishing the season with a 30-25 mark.
 
25-WIN SEASONS: With their win in Game 4 vs. Corban, the Owls clinched their fifth 25-win season in program history – joining the 2010 team (27 wins), 1982 team (28 wins), the 2022 team (30 wins) and the 2009 team (33 wins) in the elite club. OIT needs one win to secure back-to-back winning seasons, something they have accomplished twice previously – as Danny Miles led the team to winning marks from 1975-77 and Howard Morris led the team to winning seasons in 1981 and 1982. Kurt Renstrom (1984), Pete Whisler (1989), Matt Miles (2009) and Jacob Garsez (2022) have led the team to one winning season each.
 
ARMAN PROVIDES LONGEST OUTING OF 2023: Tech got a big start from Patrick Arman to begin the Corban series, as the right-hander tossed eight innings of 5-hit ball – earning a no-decision in the 4-3 walk-off win. It was the longest outing of the season by an OIT pitcher in 2023 (Arman alone tossed 8-plus innings three times in 2022), with Arman working 7-or-more innings in each of his last three outings. The junior currently ranks No. 2 in the Cascade Conference in innings pitched (57.2) and is tied for the league lead with six wins.
 
TALONEN STRINGS TOGETHER ZEROS: Day 2 starter Brendan Talonen continued a stellar 2023 season, tossing six shutout innings in the Game 4 win over Corban. Talonen allowed just three hits and struck out four to earn his fourth win of the season, lowering his ERA to 3.11. The senior has allowed two earned runs or less in six of his eight starts this season.
 
OUT OF THE PEN: Right-hander Braeden Bellum and left-hander Dylan Huddle each had quality outings out of the bullpen in the Corban series. Bellum tossed four-plus innings of one-run ball, striking out five, keeping Tech in the Game 2 loss. Huddle threw three shutout innings in Game 3, striking out a season-high three batters, giving the Owls a chance to rally in the contest.
 
TAM LEADS OFFENSE: Left fielder Ka'ala Tam broke out of a 2-for-17 slump in a big way against Corban – recording 3-straight multi-hit games to end the series. The sophomore was 7-for-11 with four runs scored during the stretch – including a 2-run homer – while adding four stolen bases, pushing his total to a team-best 15.
 
HORNER EXTENDS HIT STREAK TO 10: Sophomore Tyler Horner continued a banner season, extending his hitting streak to 10 games with a 6-for-16 series against Corban. The third baseman/catcher had a key 2-run homer in the come-from-behind Game 1 win – one of six multi-hit games in his current run. Horner is hitting .352 with four homers and 32 RBI – each among the Top-2 on the squad.
 
WITH THE BATS: Korrey Siracusa continued to be key in the leadoff spot, going 5-for-14 with six runs scored, adding two walks and four hit-by-pitches, pushing his league-leading runs scored total to 50. Bryce Petrilla hit safely in all four games, going 5-for-16 with four runs scored and takes a 5-game hit streak into the weekend. Reserve infielder Adam Jacques posted his first career multi-hit game, going 2-for-4 with an RBI in the Game 4 win.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS: OIT posted a season-high six doubles in Game 2 against Corban, one of three games in the series with 10-or-more hits – giving the Owls 21 double-digit hit games in 2023. Tech is now 18-4 this season when scoring 6-or-more runs, but 7-9 when scoring five runs or less.
 
BIG SERIES IN THE VALLEY: Tech heads over Willamette Pass this weekend for a key 4-game set at Bushnell, looking for redemption after the Eugene squad took 2-of-3 from the Owls in March. BU heads into the series on a slide, dropping 6-of-7 games – including all four games of a weekend series at UBC. Tech holds a 9-3 all-time record against BU, including a 5-3 mark at Drifters Stadium.
 
OPPONENT PREVIEW – BUSHNELL: The second-year Beacons (19-16, 7-5 CCC) have already surpassed their win total from 2022, thanks to an offense that has hit 31 home runs and a pitching staff that has a 2-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio and a solid 4.50 ERA. Top hitter, third baseman Cayden Delozier (.378 4 HR 21 RBI) has missed the past 10 games due to injury, with second baseman Ethan Stacy (.344 2 HR 14 RBI), first baseman Cade Crist (.320 7 HR 21 RBI) and outfielder Jordan Wilson (.278 4 HR 22 RBI) have been key in his absence. On the mound, starters Ethan Sachs (3-3 3.48 ERA) and Alex Sabatino (4-2 4.01 ERA) have anchored the rotation, with Colby Knutzen (2-0 3.24 ERA, 2 saves) one of many arms in a deep bullpen.
 
AROUND THE CONFERENCE: The logjam near the top of the standings will shift this weekend, as all seven teams will be on the diamond. Along with OIT traveling to Bushnell, College of Idaho makes the trip to Corban, while Lewis-Clark State faces off at Eastern Oregon. UBC will step up during their bye-weekend series, meeting Division I Seattle University in a pair of games.
 
THE STEEN FACTOR: With the series split against Corban, the Hustlin' Owls improved to 20-9 since moving their home field from Kiger Stadium to Steen Sports Park. During that time, OIT has four series wins, two series splits and just one series loss.
 
RECORD BOOK: Nine players have moved their way into Top-25 in the OIT career record book. Patrick Arman is tied for the all-time wins (16) mark, ranking No. 2 in pitching starts (34), No. 3 in strikeouts (174), No. 4 in innings pitched (229.1), No. 12 in appearances (44) and No. 20 in complete games (4); Cody Dubray is No. 6 in strikeouts (152), No. 12 in pitching starts (24), No. 17 in appearances (40) and No. 19 in wins (9); Tyler Horner is No. 14 in hit-by-pitches (18), No. 18 in RBI (73), No. 22 in doubles (24), No. 23 in home runs (9) and No. 25 in walks (44); Matthew Ortiz is No. 15 in stolen bases (23), No. 18 in RBI (73), No. 23 in hits (119) and No. 25 in at bats (377); Riley Cronin is No. 4 in saves (5); Ka'ala Tam ranks No. 15 in stolen bases (23); Sean Tobin is No. 10 in sacrifice hits (9); Korrey Siracusa is No. 10 in hit-by-pitches (19), with Brodie Marino No. 18 in hit-by-pitches (16). Ortiz also sits just outside the Top-25 in doubles (21) and runs scored (63).
 
LOOKING AHEAD: OIT returns home next weekend for a big 4-game series against UBC. Next Sunday will also mark Senior Day, as the Owls honor the four senior members on their squad.