Oregon Institute of Technology Athletics

COMING UP: vs. Corban (DH), Friday, 12 p.m.; vs. Corban (DH), Saturday, 11 a.m.

COMPLETE WEEKLY MEDIA NOTEBOOK
 
WATCH / LISTEN LIVE: All four games of the Corban series will be carried on the Owls Sports Network with Mike Safford on the call, while Live Stats will be available through the OIT SIDEARM Stats Portal.
 
HISTORIC WEEKEND IN LEWISTON: Heading into last week's series at Lewis-Clark State, the Hustlin' Owls posted a 6-76 all-time record against the 19-time NAIA champs. Things changed in a flash in the Lewis-Clark Valley, as OIT won the first three games of the series and were one out away from completing a 4-game sweep of the then No. 3-ranked team in the NAIA. Along with Tech securing their first-ever doubleheader sweep and series win against LC, the Owls earned the first regular-season shutout win by an opponent at Harris Field since 2015 and became the first team since 1970 to win 3-straight games against LCSC on their diamond. If Tech had completed the sweep, the Owls would have become the first team to ever sweep a 4-game series from the Warriors.
 
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 – the sixth-highest total in the others' receiving votes category. In addition, the Owls rank No. 28 in the most-recent BoChip Power Index and No. 8 in the West Coast ARC rating – two key elements in determining both at-large bids to the NAIA Championships and seeding within the tournament.
 
BEST STARTS: The 23-11 start by the Hustlin' Owls equals the best 34-game start in program history – equaling the record first established by the 1981 squad. The 1982 OIT club began the year 22-12, the 2022 team started 21-13, with the 2010 OIT team began 20-14.
 
25-WIN SEASONS: The Owls head into the weekend needing two victories to secure their fifth 25-win season in program history – looking to join 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 looks 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 SETS THE TONE: The LC series started with a bang for the Hustlin' Owls, as Patrick Arman spun a masterful performance in a 3-0 shutout win – earning Cascade Conference Pitcher of the Week honors in the process. The right-hander blanked LCSC over seven innings, holding the Warriors to just one hit, combining for the first 1-hitter by OIT since the 2011 season. In the process, Arman picked up his league-leading sixth victory – the 16th of his career – tying John Schulz for the top spot in the all-time record book. Arman has tossed 6-or-more innings in 6-of-7 starts and lowered his ERA to 3.81.
 
BARRAZA CONTINUES STELLAR SEASON: Tech completed the Day 1 sweep at LCSC behind a quality start from Lalo Barraza, as the righty tossed seven innings, allowing just two runs on four hits, striking out five. It was the second start this season Barraza has worked through seven innings – upping his innings count to 48, ranking No. 3 in the conference. The win was his sixth of the season – joining teammate Patrick Arman for the top spot in the league.
 
STRANDED: The Owls pitching staff did an outstanding job of limiting damage against LC – stranding 39 runners in the 4-game series, including 17 runners in the Game 3 win. The bullpen was instrumental in the success, getting key efforts from Braeden Bellum, Landon Cheney, Riley Cronin, Ryan Poling and Dylan Huddle. Bellum picked up his first save of 2023, tossing two clean innings in the Game 1 win; Cheney worked 2-plus innings of relief, allowing just one hit and fanning two in the Game 3 victory; Cronin picked up a win and his fifth save, allowing just one run in three innings in the Game 2 and Game 3 wins; Ryan Poling did not allow an earned run in two appearances in Games 2 and 4, striking out three; with Dylan Huddle tossing an inning and a third of shutout baseball in the Game 4 loss.
 
BATS STAY HOT: After a slow start to the season, the Hustlin' Owls offense continued to impress – extending a streak of games with 8-or-more hits to 14 – while recording 10-or-more hits in 18 of the 34 games played. OIT hit .281 collectively as a team in the LCSC series – their highest single-series team batting average against the Warriors in program history.
 
HORNER PACES THE ATTACK: Facing one of the top pitching teams in all of NAIA baseball, Tyler Horner had a huge series in Lewiston, combining to go 8-for-17 with a double, home run and six RBI. Horner saw his batting average climb to .349 and leads the team with 15 multi-hit games on the season (including three 3-hit games) – hitting safely in 12-of-13 games (including 6-straight) and reaching base in 16-consecutive games.
 
SIRACUSA LIVES ON BASE: Leadoff hitter Korrey Siracusa set the table throughout the series at LC, reaching base in 11-of-20 plate appearances – stretching a string of games reaching base to 16. The sophomore was 7-for-16 at the plate, scoring six runs – taking over the conference lead in runs scored with 44. Siracusa ranks No. 2 in the CCC in on-base percentage (.520) and has climbed to No. 6 in the league in batting average (.366).
 
TOBIN KEY AT THE BOTTOM OF THE ORDER: Shortstop Sean Tobin continued a quality 2023 campaign, going 5-for-13 with three runs scored at LCSC. The junior has reached base in 16-straight games, while hitting .480 (12-for-25) over the last eight games – climbing his batting average to .290 – while leading the team with six sacrifice hits.
 
WARRIORS SEARCHING FOR REDEMPTION: Tech starts a string of 3-straight series facing an opponent for a second time – beginning this weekend against Corban. The Salem school is looking for redemption against the Owls, as OIT swept a 4-game February series in the Valley – thanks to a combined 51 runs and 53 hits, with Corban helping out with 20 total errors. The two teams have met 145 times since 1979, with the Owls holding a 76-69 series edge, including a 34-21 mark in the Basin.
 
OPPONENT PREVIEW – CORBAN: The Warriors (8-22, 2-6 CCC) head to town after splitting a Monday doubleheader at Bushnell – searching for added offense, as the club holds a 1-11 record this season when scoring two runs or less. Corban leads the league with 76 stolen bases on the season but are hitting .238 as a team and have committed 64 errors. Catcher Keenan O'Brien (.338 3 HR 12 RBI), second baseman Elijah Maris (.313 0 HR 19 RBI), third baseman Ryan Clay (.298 1 HR 16 RBI) and outfielder Brad Pellkofer (.223 1 HR 17 RBI) lead the offense, while starters Nate Martin (3-3 3.80 ERA) and Bryce Bridge (2-0 4.45 ERA), along with reliever Trevor Szczepanek (0-2 4.25 ERA, 3 saves) anchor the pitching staff.
 
AROUND THE CONFERENCE: British Columbia completed a dominant series sweep at Eastern Oregon, outscoring their opponent 65-11, with Bushnell taking 3-of-4 from Corban and College of Idaho sweeping a 2-game series at Linfield. The conference will have some movement this weekend – as Lewis-Clark State heads to C of I, with Bushnell making the long drive to UBC and Corban traveling to OIT.
 
THE STEEN FACTOR: With the series win over College of Idaho on April 26, the Hustlin' Owls improved to 18-7 since moving their home field from Kiger Stadium to Steen Sports Park. During that time, OIT has four series wins, one series split and just one series loss.
 
RECORD BOOK: Eight 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. 3 in strikeouts (174), No. 4 in pitching starts (33), No. 5 in innings pitched (221.1), No. 13 in appearances (43) and No. 20 in complete games (4); Cody Dubray is No. 6 in strikeouts (147), No. 17 in pitching starts (23), No. 18 in appearances (39) and No. 19 in wins (9); Tyler Horner is No. 13 in hit-by-pitches (18), No. 23 in RBI (69) and No. 25 in both doubles (23) and home runs (9); Matthew Ortiz is No. 16 in stolen bases (22), No. 22 in RBI (70) and No. 25 in hits (117); Riley Cronin is No. 4 in saves (5); Ka'ala Tam ranks No. 23 in stolen bases (19);  with both Brodie Marino and Korrey Siracusa ranking No. 20 in hit-by-pitches (15). Ortiz also sits just outside the Top-25 in doubles (20), runs scored (63) and at bats (363), with Horner just outside the list in walks (41).
 
LOOKING AHEAD: OIT plays their final road series of the season next, traveling to Springfield for a Friday/Saturday set at Bushnell.