COMING UP: at Jessup (DH), 12 p.m.; at Jessup (DH), Saturday, 11 a.m.

COMPLETE WEEKLY MEDIA NOTEBOOK
 
GAMEDAY INFORMATION: The 4-game series will be played at McBean Park in Lincoln, Calif. – with all four games to be streamed on the GSAC Sports Network. Live Stats will be provided through the OIT SIDEARM Stats Portal.
 
MULTIMEDIA: Photos from the 2024 season will be posted online via the OIT Baseball Flickr Page, while highlight clips and interviews posted online via the new OIT Baseball YouTube Channel.
 
SEASON OPENERS: Since the 1979 season, the Owls are 10-25 in their season opening game – winning back-to-back games during the 2006-07 and 2017-18 seasons. From 1979-86, Tech began the year exclusively against NCAA Division I competition, including a 6-5 victory over Oregon State in 1986. Last season, OIT split a season-opening doubleheader at Jessup University, losing Game 1, 15-6, before winning Game 2, 6-4.
 
ANOTHER PRESEASON, ANOTHER TRIP TO CALIFORNIA: Preseason games in California is a staple for the OIT squad, as the Owls have made the trip south for 28-straight seasons (1986-91, 2002 to the present). It marks the 18th-straight year that the Owls season opener is in the Golden State, including the 2017 season in which Tech played their first 19 games south of the Oregon border. During the last 27 years, the Owls have played a combined 316 games in California, recording a 118-198 overall record.
 
EARLIEST OPENING DAY?: For the ninth time in the last 10 years, the Owls will open the baseball season in the month of January. Last season, OIT began the year on Feb. 3 at Jessup (their latest start to a season since 2012), while during the 2018, Tech recorded their earliest first pitch, playing at Menlo on Jan. 18.
 
OPPONENT PREVIEW – JESSUP: The Owls open the season at McBean Park for the third time in four seasons, making the trip to the Sacramento area to face Jessup University in a 4-game series. The Warriors (18-22-1) did not qualify for the postseason in 2023, as an offensive attack that averaged over seven runs per game could not counter a pitching staff that surrendered nearly eight runs per contest. JU is expected to have a roster of nearly 50 players – a roster that has not been released publicly by head coach Trevor Paine. The Warriors line-up is expected to feature returning outfielders Kevin Gutierrez (.236 2 HR 21 RBI; 0-0 1.50 ERA, 1 SV), Brandon Springer (.342 5 HR 25 RBI) and Kayde Iranon (.310 7 HR 27 RBI), along with their top starting pitcher, veteran left-hander Max Moreno (5-4 6.66 ERA).
 
HISTORY VS. THE WARRIORS: Tech and Jessup have been mainstays on each other's schedules since 2017, playing a combined 21 times, with the Warriors holding a 12-9 series lead – with all 21 games played in California. The Owls have had the upper hand of late, winning 3-of-4 games at Jessup in 2022, while taking 2-of-3 from the Warriors last season. Future games between the schools may be in jeopardy, as JU will move to the NCAA Division II's Pacific West Conference in 2025.
 
AGAINST THE GSAC: Over the years, OIT has played non-conference games against seven of the eight current members of the Golden State Athletic Conference (along with three former members of the league), recording a combined 33-80 overall record. Menlo (49 games), Jessup (22 games) and former league member Westmont (18 games) are the most common GSAC opponents of the Owls, while Tech has yet to face Hope International and OUAZ on the diamond. The GSAC will look different in 2025 – as Vanguard, Jessup and Menlo will all depart for the NCAA Division II, while adding a quartet of California Pacific Conference teams (Embry-Riddle, Benedictine Mesa, Park-Gilbert and Saint Katherine).
 
TECH PICKED THIRD BY COACHES: Despite winning the 2023 league title and reaching the tournament championship game – OIT was picked third of seven teams in the preseason Cascade Conference coaches' poll – released in November. Defending NAIA national runner-up, Lewis-Clark State, was the favorite (despite finishing fourth in the 2023 league standings), while CCC Tournament champion, British Columbia placed second, just ahead of the Owls. LC earned 4-of-7 first-place votes, UBC earned one first-place nod, with Tech claiming the final two. College of Idaho, Bushnell, Corban and Eastern Oregon rounded out the poll.
 
NAIA RECOGNIZES OIT: For the first time in program history, the Hustlin' Owls received votes in the preseason NAIA Top-25 poll, earning eight voter points from the 20 conference raters. Last season, OIT received votes in the Top-25 poll for the first time since the sport returned to the school in 2002, earning 30 voter points in the April 5 ballot. Two other CCC schools are in the Top-25, as Lewis-Clark State is ranked No. 3 and British Columbia received votes. In addition, four preseason opponents are in the Top-25 – No. 5 LSU-Shreveport, No. 21 Texas Wesleyan, No. 22 Central Methodist (Mo.) and No. 25 Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.).
 
VETERAN TEAM LOOKS TO BUILD OFF CCC TITLE: OIT returns the bulk of their 2023 squad that won their first Cascade Conference regular-season championship and advanced to the league title game – as seven everyday position players, two rotation arms, two back-end bullpen arms and a quality group of reserves return for the new season. Anchoring the Tech team are two All-CCC selections – catcher Tyler Horner (.357 5 HR 43 RBI, 10 2B, school-record 39 BB) and right fielder Julien Jones (.379 6 HR 43 RBI, 14 2B 5 3B). Third-baseman Matthew Ortiz (.308 1 HR 51 RBI, 12 2B 15 SB) and second-baseman Korrey Siracusa (.329 1 HR 24 RBI, 33 BB 24 HP) return on the infield, with the Owls returning left fielder Ka'ala Tam (.301 5 HR 31 RBI, 20 SB) and center fielder Alonzo Vergara (.290 5 HR 22 RBI, 10 2B). No. 1 starter Patrick Arman (8-1 3.76 ERA, 58 K) established the career wins record last season and is poised to break the all-time strikeout mark, while lefty Cody Dubray (0-4 7.38 ERA, 62 K) looks for a bounce back 2024 season, hoping to regain the form when he won seven games as a sophomore. Both Riley Cronin (3-4 4.40 ERA, 5 SV) and Ryan Poling (4-3 4.93 ERA, 21 AP) were workhorses in the bullpen for the squad last year. The veteran group has added key newcomers – first-baseman Kyle Norton from fellow-NAIA foe Georgia Gwinnett, shortstop Patrick Barry from Butte College, designated hitter Keanu Mizuta of Shasta College, along with power arms Bronson Chapple from Lassen College, Isaac Hill from Oregon State and Tim Williams from Big Bend CC.
 
AROUND THE CONFERENCE: The Cascade Conference will once again feature a 24-game league schedule, with each of the seven teams playing each other in a 4-game series (three home series and three road series), along with two crossover, non-league series against CCC opponents. The top-four teams in the regular-season will earn a spot in the CCC Championships, with the winner earning the league's automatic bid to the NAIA Championships. Four of the seven teams in the CCC will open play this weekend, as along with Tech traveling to Jessup, Eastern Oregon is at Simpson, Corban is at Menlo, with C of I making the trip to Park-Gilbert in Arizona.
 
RECORD BOOK: Eight OIT players begin the season ranked in the Top-25 of the Owls Top-25 career record book. Patrick Arman holds the school record for wins (18), ranking No. 2 in pitching starts (38) and innings pitched (253.0), No. 3 in strikeouts (192) and No. 7 in pitching appearances (48); Cody Dubray is No. 5 in strikeouts (165), No. 10 in pitching starts (27) and No. 13 in pitching appearances (44); with Riley Cronin No. 4 in saves (5). Matthew Ortiz is No. 8 in stolen bases (31), No. 12 in RBI (88), No. 13 in triples (5), No. 15 in hits (143), No. 16 in doubles (27), No. 20 in at bats (427) and No. 21 in runs scored (79); Tyler Horner is No. 11 in hit-by-pitches (21), No. 14 in walks (56), No. 15 in RBI (83), No. 16 in doubles (27), No. 20 in hits (135), No. 21 in home runs (11), No. 22 in at bats (402) and No. 23 in games started (106); Korrey Siracusa is No. 6 in hit-by-pitches (24); Ka'ala Tam is No. 15 in stolen bases (28) and Julien Jones is No. 18 in triples (5).
 
LOOKING AHEAD: After taking next weekend off, OIT will make their first ever trip outside the West Coast – traveling to Sterlington, La., for the Cajun Collision (Feb. 9-10), hosted by LSU-Shreveport. The Owls will face four Top-25 teams in two days – including the host and fifth-ranked Pilots.