COMING UP: at Cajun Collision, Sterlington, La. – Thursday vs. No. 22 Central Methodist, 12 p.m. (CT); vs. No. 5 LSU Shreveport, 3:30 p.m. (CT). Friday vs. Georgetown, 12:30 p.m. (CT); vs. LSU Alexandria, 6:30 p.m. (CT)

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.
 
ABOUT THE CAJUN COLLISON: In its fourth year, top programs from across the nation descend on Sterlington, La., for the Cajun Collision, presented by NAIA Ball. A total of 21 teams will compete in what was a 4-day event that is going to be conducted in two days due to forecasted rain over the weekend - including six Top-25 teams.
 
OPPONENT PREVIEW - CENTRAL METHODIST: The 2-day event begins Thursday, as Tech meets Central Methodist of Fayette, Mo. The No. 22-ranked Eagles (2-0) are coming off a 36-19 season, qualifying for their seventh-straight NAIA Tournament, losing in the Fayette Opening Round Bracket final. The 2021 NAIA World Series participant returns five players who earned All-Heart of America Athletic Conference honors - catcher Tanner Sears (.380 13 HR 64 in '23), designated hitter Jeremy Conforti (.376 10 HR 54 RBI in '23), first baseman Joseph Weatherford (.316 3 HR 40 RBI in '23) and outfielder Bobby Nichols (.319 0 HR 25 RBI, 33 SB in '23), along with pitcher Sebastian Escobar (9-3 2.76 ERA in '23). CMU opened the season with a doubleheader sweep of Southwestern Assemblies of God.
 
OPPONENT PREVIEW - LSU SHREVEPORT: Tech closes out Day 1 in the Bayou with a date against host LSU Shreveport, ranked No. 5 in the NAIA preseason poll. The Pilots (4-1) were the No. 2 seeded team heading into last season's NAIA Tournament, but were upset in the Opening Round championship, ending the year 47-10. LSUS has qualified for five NAIA World Series in the last decade, with the current squad returning five All-Red River Athletic Conference players - pitchers Dravon Zeigler (7-1 3.14 ERA in '23) and Chase Guitreau (2-0 2.38 ERA), along with position players in outfielder Trevor Burkhart (.336 0 HR 30 RBI), shortstop Josh Gibson (.393 2 HR 28 RBI) and second baseman Vantrel Reed (.371 6 HR 46 RBI). The Pilots swept a pair of early season games with Reinhardt and split a series with Mid-America Christian.
 
OPPONENT PREVIEW - GEORGETOWN: Day 2 in Louisiana starts with the first of two opponents that were flipped by tournament organizers, as OIT meets Georgetown College of Kentucky. The Tigers (3-0) are coming off a 29-24 season in 2023, advancing to the Mid South Conference Tournament and are searching for their first NAIA Tournament berth since 2019. GC opened the 2024 season with a 3-game series sweep of Shawnee State, with the team returning three All-Mid South position players in outfielders Jarrett Chapman and Josh Duarte, first baseman Hank Schineller and third baseman Payton Rios (compete 2023 stats for the Tigers are unavailable). The pitching staff is led by Trevor Baker, who tossed eight shutout innings against Shawnee State, striking out 10.
 
OPPONENT PREVIEW - LSU ALEXANDRIA: OIT ends their short stay in Louisiana with a match-up against LSU Alexandria - a member of the Red River Athletic Conference making a 2-hour drive to the tournament. The Generals (1-5) are coming off a 34-18 season, losing in the RRAC Tournament finals - just the third time in the last eight years the squad did not advance to the NAIA Tournament Opening Round. LSUA returns much of their roster from last season, including pitchers Seth Trahan (4-4 4.58 ERA in '23), William Vice (4-6 4.26 ERA in '23) and Sloane Greaves (6-2 6.03 in '23), along with first baseman Blaise Foote (.388 10 HR 54 RBI in '23), third baseman Zach Mengarelli (.323 2 HR 29 RBI in '23) and outfielder Julian Kliebert (.301 3 HR 23 RBI in '23). The Generals opened the season losing 3-straight to Oklahoma City, dropping a pair to Loyola, before a home win over Wiley.
 
FURTHEST TRIP EVER / NEW OPPONENTS: OIT made the 2,000-mile trip to Louisiana on Wednesday, the longest road trip in program history. It is the furthest east the Owls have played (surpassing Caldwell, Idaho, San Diego, Calif., and Mesa, Ariz. All four opponents are new to Tech - as the Owls have played just two teams outside the West in their history - Sioux Falls (S.D.) in 2009 and Madonna (Mich.) in 2012 (both in California tournaments).
 
HORNER EARNS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Nearly two weeks ago, the Owls opened the season at Jessup, with junior Tyler Horner having a monster weekend - earning Cascade Conference Player of the Week honors. The catcher recorded four multi-hit games, finishing the series 10-for-17 at the plate, with three doubles, a triple, two home runs and six RBI, while throwing out four would-be base stealers.
 
SOLID WITH THE STICKS: As a team, Tech hit a combined .313 in the Jessup series - pounding out 14 extra-base hits, including seven home runs. Junior Alonzo Vergara was 5-for-14 over the weekend, with a triple, home run and five RBI, while Julien Jones finished 5-for-15 with three RBI.
 
ROUGH WEEKEND ON THE MOUND: While the OIT bats were solid, the pitching staff struggled on the mound, as the Owls dropped all four games of the series. The arms combined for 27 walks in 28 innings of work and an 11.89 team ERA - allowing 1.5 hits per inning and nine total home runs. Riley Cronin was the bright spot, making two relief appearances, tossing four innings - allowing just one run on two hits, striking out six.
 
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, two preseason opponents are in the Top-25 – No. 5 LSU-Shreveport and No. 22 Central Methodist (Mo.). OIT was picked third in the CCC Preseason Poll, trailing LC State and UBC, just ahead of both College of Idaho and Bushnell.
 
AROUND THE CONFERENCE: All seven teams have opened the series - with British Columbia sweeping Central Washington, LC State winning 3-of-4 at the East-West Challenge and Eastern Oregon winning 5-of-7 games against St. Martin's and Simpson. Six of the seven teams in the league will be in action this weekend - with Corban traveling to Jessup, Bushnell facing Simpson, College of Idaho hosting Westcliff, UBC off to California to meet Hope International and Embry-Riddle, with Eastern playing doubleheaders at Pacific and George Fox.
 
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 (39) and innings pitched (256.0), No. 3 in strikeouts (194) and No. 6 in pitching appearances (49); Cody Dubray is No. 4 in strikeouts (169), No. 10 in pitching starts (27) and No. 11 in pitching appearances (45); with Riley Cronin No. 4 in saves (5). Matthew Ortiz is No. 6 in stolen bases (32), No. 11 in RBI (90), No. 13 in triples (5), No. 14 in hits (147), No. 16 in doubles (27), No. 18 in at bats (443) and No. 20 in runs scored (82); Tyler Horner is No. 11 in hit-by-pitches (21), No. 12 in RBI (89) and home runs (13), No. 13 in walks (58), No. 15 in doubles (30) and hits (145), No. 22 in at bats (419) and No. 23 in games started (110); Korrey Siracusa is No. 5 in hit-by-pitches (25); Ka'ala Tam is No. 13 in stolen bases (29) and Julien Jones is No. 18 in triples (5).
 
LOOKING AHEAD: Next week, Tech heads to Lancaster, Calif., for a 4-game weekend series at Antelope Valley - a homecoming for head coach Jacob Garsez, who was UAV's head coach for four seasons.