Oregon Institute of Technology Athletics

COMING UP: vs. Simpson (DH), Saturday, 12 p.m.

COMPLETE WEEKLY MEDIA NOTEBOOK
 
WATCH ONLINE: Saturday's doubleheader vs. Simpson will be carried on the Owls Sports Network, with Mike Safford calling the action, while Live Stats will be available through the OIT SIDEARM Stats Portal.
 
TECH HEADED TO THE POSTSEASON: The Hustlin' Owls are the lone team to clinch a spot in the Cascade Conference Championships, earning the playoff bid with their Game 1 victory Saturday against British Columbia. It is the second postseason appearance for Tech in the last three years and their 14th trip to the playoffs in program history. OIT won the 1974 and 1982 Evergreen Conference South Division title, the 1981 Oregon Collegiate Conference title and the 2009 and 2010 NAIA West South Division crown. Tech qualified for five NAIA District 2 tournaments (1974, 1981, 1982, 1986, 1989), three NAIA Region I tournaments (2004, 2005, 2006), four NAIA West Tournaments (2009, 2010, 2013, 2017) and the 2021 and 2023 CCC Championships.
 
LET'S GO CORBAN: OIT currently hosts a percentage-points lead on British Columbia in the Cascade Conference standings heading into the final weekend of the regular season. The Owls sit at 16-8 in CCC play – with UBC heading into their home series vs. Corban at 13-7 – with the T-Birds needing to sweep the series to clinch the outright conference crown and earn the host bid for the CCC Championships, set for May 6-8. A win by Corban in the series would set tiebreak scenarios into place (thanks to the OIT-UBC series split last weekend) – starting with records against the third-place team in the standings and moving through the squads until a tie is broken. Both Lewis-Clark State and College of Idaho are tied for third with 11-9 marks – with both teams 3-1 vs. LC, but OIT holds the edge vs. C of I (3-1 vs. 0-4). UBC would win the tiebreak if fifth-place Bushnell moves into third alone (4-0 vs. 2-2) – however, C of I has the easier schedule playing last-place Eastern Oregon, while LC meets Bushnell.
 
BEST STARTS: The 29-17 start by the Hustlin' Owls is the second-best 46-game start in program history – trailing only last season's squad that began the year 30-16. Tech would secure their third 30-win season with one victory – joining the 2022 (30 wins) and 2009 (33 wins) teams in the exclusive club. Jacob Garsez became just the third OIT coach to record back-to-back winning seasons – as Danny Miles led the Owls to winning marks from 1975-77 and Howard Morris led Tech to winning marks in 1981 and 1982.
 
JONES CONTINUES DOMINANCE OF UBC: For the second time this season, right fielder Julien Jones was a thorn in the side of UBC pitching – recording six extra base hits in the 4-game series, earning his second Cascade Conference Player of the Week award. The transfer finished 11-for-19 in the series, with two doubles, three triples a homer and seven RBI – adding three stolen bases. He became the fifth OIT player in program history to record a 5-hit game and first since Matthew Ortiz accomplished the feat last February at Bushnell. Against the T-Birds in 2023, Jones is a combined 19-for-36 with 13 RBI.
 
HORNER EXTENDS STREAK: Tyler Horner continued his big season, going 7-for-18 in the series with UBC, adding a double, his fifth home run of the year and three RBI. The sophomore has reached base in 28-straight games – leading the CCC with 34 walks, while posting a .356 batting average and 40 RBI.
 
LATE SEASON PUSH FROM JACQUES: Taking over the shortstop duties the past two weeks, senior Adam Jacques has put together the two best series of his career. Jacques takes a team-best 7-game hit streak into the Simpson series – going 12-for-27 during the stretch (after starting the year, 1-for-24). Against UBC, Jacques was 8-for-15 with two doubles and five RBI in the No. 9 spot in the order, adding six runs scored.
 
ORTIZ STAYS HOT: Tech has received key production down the stretch from Matthew Ortiz, recording his second-straight big series. The infielder was 8-for-20 with three doubles and five RBI vs. UBC – with the numbers climbing to 16-for-34 with 10 runs scored and eight RBI over the last eight games. Ortiz leads the team and ranks No. 3 in the CCC with 44 RBI on the year.
 
SIRACUSA BREAKS TWO RECORDS: Two offensive school records went by the wayside against UBC, as Korrey Siracusa surpassed the single-season marks for runs scored and hit-by-pitches. Siracusa broke Ryson Mauricio's mark for runs scored (55) from 2009 – currently posting a league-best 58 runs scored, while breaking current assistant coach Kaleb Keelean's mark for hit-by-pitches (22) from 2021 – leading the circuit and ranking third nationally with 23 hit-by-pitches.
 
ARMAN TOPS ALL-TIME WINS LIST: The series with UBC started with a quality start from Patrick Arman, as the junior earned his seventh win of 2023, tossing six innings of 4-hit ball, in the 12-2 victory. For Arman, it was the 17th win of his career, breaking John Schulz school record of 16 victories – established five years ago. Arman is tied for the league-lead in wins, heading into the weekend 7-1 with a 3.58 ERA.
 
HIGHEST SCORING GAMES: The 18-17 OIT victory in Sunday's opener was the highest combined scoring game for the Owls in 20 years and the sixth-highest scoring game in program history. Tech and Chico State combined for 42 runs in a 26-16 loss in 1990 – the highest-scoring game by an Owls team. The Owls and an opponent twice combined for 39 runs (24-15 loss to Western Oregon in 1984, 20-19 win over Northwest Nazarene in 1990), combined for 38 runs in a 31-7 loss to Boise State in 1979 and 36 runs in a 19-17 win over San Francisco State in 2003.
 
ALREADY A RECORD-SETTING YEAR: The Owls head into the final weekend of the regular-season having broke the single-season team records for sacrifice flies (29) and stolen bases (95) – while closing in on the marks for runs scored and hit-by-pitches.
 
NON-CONFERENCE FINALE: The regular-season ends Saturday as the Hustlin' Owls host Simpson University – the 21st time in the last 22 seasons OIT and SU have met on the diamond. Tech won 4-of-5 meetings last season and hold an 83-30 series edge, including a 33-6 record in the Basin.
 
OPPONENT PREVIEW – SIMPSON: The Redhawks (18-20) have secured the No. 5 seed in the Cal Pac Tournament – thanks to a 6-game win streak down the stretch. SU is averaging six runs per game, hitting .293 as a squad – thanks to outfielders Senituli Taufahema (.410 0 HR 27 RBI) and Brady Meeds (.315 2 HR 22 RBI) and designated hitter Logan Gomes (.319 10 HR 37 RBI). On the mound, starters Connor Caporale (4-1 5.11 ERA) and Eric Winchester (5-3 6.16 ERA, 87 K) lead the club, along with reliever Dylan Cabral (0-1 4.88 ERA, 4 saves).
 
THE STEEN FACTOR: Heading into the regular-season final series, the Owls are 7-5 at home in 2023, improving 22-11 since moving their home field from Kiger Stadium to Steen Sports Park prior to the start of the 2022 season. During that time, OIT has four series wins, three series splits and just one series loss.
 
IN THE TOP-10: Ten players have cracked the Top-10 in the single-season record book – including Matthew Ortiz, who has tied the mark for sacrifice flies (5), with Korrey Siracusa holding the school record for runs scored (58) and hit-by-pitches (23), ranking No. 8 in walks. Sean Tobin is No. 2 in sacrifice hits (9), Riley Cronin is No. 3 in saves (5), Lalo Barraza and Patrick Arman are No. 4 in wins (7), Brodie Marino is No. 6 in sacrifice flies (4), Tyler Horner is No. 5 in walks (34) and No. 6 in sacrifice flies (4), with Ka'ala Tam No. 4 in stolen bases (21).
 
CAREER RECORDS: Eleven players have moved their way into Top-25 in the OIT career record book. Patrick Arman holds the all-time wins record (17), ranking No. 2 in pitching starts (36), No. 3 in strikeouts (182), No. 4 in innings pitched (242.0), No. 8 in appearances (46) and No. 20 in complete games (4); Cody Dubray is No. 6 in strikeouts (161), No. 10 in pitching starts (26), No. 15 in appearances (42) and No. 19 in wins (9); Tyler Horner is No. 11 in hit-by-pitches (20), No. 17 in RBI (80), No. 18 in doubles (26) and in walks (51), No. 21 in home runs (11), No. 22 in hits (127) and No. 24 in at bats (380); Matthew Ortiz is No. 14 in stolen bases (27), No. 16 in RBI (81), No. 18 in doubles (26), No. 19 in hits (135), No. 21 in at bats (411) and No. 25 in runs scored (73); Riley Cronin is No. 4 in saves (5); Ka'ala Tam ranks No. 14 in stolen bases (28); Sean Tobin is No. 6 in sacrifice hits (11); Korrey Siracusa is No. 7 in hit-by-pitches (23); Brodie Marino is No. 12 in hit-by-pitches (19); Julien Jones is No. 18 in triples (5); with Brendan Talonen No. 25 in pitching appearances (36).
 
LOOKING AHEAD: Tech will play in the Cascade Conference Championships, next Saturday-Monday, either at Steen Sports Park or in Vancouver, B.C.