COMING UP: vs. British Columbia (DH), Saturday, 12 p.m.; vs. British Columbia (DH), Sunday, 11 a.m.

COMPLETE WEEKLY MEDIA NOTEBOOK
 
GAME DAY INFORMATION: The 4-game series at Steen Sports Park with British Columbia will have Live Video via the Owls Sports Network, with Cooper Roberts calling the action on Saturday and Mike Garrard calling the action on Sunday, with Live Stats provided through the OIT SIDEARM Stats Portal.
 
MULTIMEDIA: Photos from the 2024 season, including photos from the Western Oregon series, are posted online via the OIT Baseball Flickr Page, while highlight clips posted online via the new OIT Baseball YouTube Channel.
 
OPPONENT PREVIEW – BRITISH COLUMBIA: The top two teams in the Cascade Conference from 2023 meet in the 2024 conference opening series, as British Columbia makes the long journey south to the Basin. The T-Birds (15-8) advanced to the NAIA Tournament by defeating Tech in the title game of the CCC Championships and return the bulk of their roster – including first baseman Trent Lenihan (.430 7 HR 24 RBI), outfielder Mitchell Middlemiss (.398 5 HR 25 RBI), catcher Russell Young (.344 3 HR 14 RBI) and shortstop David Draayers (.241 4 HR 16 RBI). UBC is hitting .291 as a team and clubbed 34 home runs – having earned a series sweep of nationally-ranked Hope International and a series win over The Master's. On the mound, the duo of Ryan Heppner (4-1 3.43 ERA, 36 K) and Sean Heppner (1-1 6.12 ERA, 46 K) lead a deep and talented rotation, with returning closer Vic Domingo (1-0 3.31 ERA, 3 saves) key in the bullpen.
 
HISTORY VS. THE THUNDERBIRDS: Since OIT brought back their baseball program in 2002, UBC has been a staple on the schedule, with the Owls and T-Birds meeting 124 times in the 22-year period. Last season, the two teams split a pair of 4-game series – one in Vancouver and one in the Basin, with UBC claiming an 11-7 decision in the CCC Tournament title game – improving their all-time record vs. Tech to 93-31.
 
CONFERENCE SCHEDULE BEGINS: This weekend marks the start of the Cascade Conference baseball schedule, with the seven league teams beginning the 24-game schedule to determine the four teams which will compete in the CCC Championships. Each of the squads will play a 4-game series against each other – with three series at home and three series on the road. The winner of the CCC Tournament championship will earn an automatic bid to the NAIA National Tournament.
 
AROUND THE CONFERENCE: Last week, UBC completed a 4-game home sweep of College of Idaho, Bushnell won 3-of-4 at home vs. LC State, with Eastern Oregon dropping 2-of-3 at previously unbeaten Whitworth. This week, LC travels to Corban, Bushnell is off to Eastern, with C of I having their bye weekend.
 
HOME COOKING: After playing their first 20 of their first 24 games on the road, OIT returns to Steen Sports Park for the first time since February 25. Since moving their home diamond to Steen Sports Park in 2022, the Hustlin' Owls have a combined 26-13 home record, including a 9-5 mark last season.
 
OFFENSIVE EXPLOSION: The OIT offense erupted at Volcanoes Stadium in the 4-game series at Corban, combining to score 47 runs with 60 hits. Tech tied a season-high for runs scored with 17 in the series opener, while recording a season-best 20 hits in the Game 1 win.
 
10-RUN GAMES: The Owls strung together a trio of 10-run games at Corban, pushing their streak of consecutive 10-run games to five, before scoring six runs in the series finale. It marked just the second time in program history OIT recorded 5-straight 10-or-more run games, joining the 1989 squad that achieved the feat against Eastern Oregon and Northwest Nazarene.
 
STOLEN BASES GALORE: Tech is on pace to destroy the single-season stolen base record, currently ranking No. 2 in the NAIA with 86 stolen bases through the first 24 games. The 2024 number already ranks No. 5 on the OIT single-season list, with last season's team setting the new school mark with 111. Five players have double-digit steals – with Kyle Norton leading the CCC with 19 stolen bases, with Matthew Ortiz (12), Alonzo Vergara (11), Julien Jones (10) and Dane Bradshaw (10) all in the Top-10.
 
ORTIZ LEADS THE OFFENSE, EARNS HONOR: The huge offensive weekend was paced by Matthew Ortiz, who was honored as Cascade Conference Player of the Week. The junior finished 10-for-18 in the series with Corban, recording three doubles, eight runs scored, six stolen bases and four RBI (had seven additional RBI from a Monday doubleheader at EOU). Over the weekend, Ortiz extended his hit streak to six games, while becoming the 14th player to record 100 runs in a career.
 
NORTON HEATS UP: After a slow first month of the season, first baseman Kyle Norton ran his hit streak to seven games with a huge series at Corban. The transfer was 8-for-15 with a double and four RBI, adding six runs scored and four stolen bases – jumping his batting average 115 points.
 
BARRY KEY WITH THE BAT/GLOVE: The Owls have received huge production both offensively and defensively at shortstop from Patrick Barry, as the transfer heads into the weekend hitting .378, while recording just two errors in 67 defensive chances. Barry had a big trip to Keizer, going 7-for-15 with a double, triple and four RBI, recording his seventh, eighth and ninth multi-hit games of the season.
 
VERGARA/HORNER HAVE BIG SERIES: The middle of the Tech order had a stellar weekend in the Valley, as Alonzo Vergara and Tyler Horner each produced big numbers. Vergara was 7-for-14 with a triple, three runs scored, four stolen bases and six RBI, while Horner was 8-for-17 with three doubles and nine RBI – hitting his league-leading eighth home run of the season.
 
JONES EXTENDS HIT STREAK: Julien Jones recorded a hit in each of the four games on the road swing, extending his hitting streak to a team-best 13 games. Jones, who finished the trip 5-for-14 with four RBI, has the longest hitting streak for an OIT since 2022, when Matthew Ortiz hit safely in 15-straight games.
 
ARMAN/CHAPPLE A 1-2 PUNCH: For the second straight weekend, the tandem of Patrick Arman and Bronson Chapple stymied hitters – each recording quality starts on Friday afternoon. Arman tossed a season-high seven innings, holding Corban to one run on six hits – becoming the first OIT pitcher in program history to win 20 career games. Chapple recorded his fourth-straight win, holding Corban to one hit and striking out five – surrendering four hits or less in each of the four wins.
 
MCCLELLAND A STOPPER: For the third-straight appearance, lefty Brian McClelland has been key in long relief for the Owls. The transfer threw a season-high 3 2/3 innings of relief at Corban, holding the Warriors to a run on three hits, striking out three – earning the Game 3 win. For the season, McClelland has allowed just four earned runs in 13 innings, fanning 11.
 
RECORD BOOK: Nine OIT are currently ranked in the Top-25 of the Owls career record book. Patrick Arman holds the school record for wins (20), strikeouts (215), pitching starts (44) and innings pitched (285.1), ranking No. 5 in pitching appearances (54); Cody Dubray is No. 3 in strikeouts (199), No. 5 in pitching starts (32), No. 7 in pitching appearances (50), No. 11 in wins (11) and No. 13 in innings pitched (167.0); with Riley Cronin No. 4 in saves (5). Matthew Ortiz is No. 1 in sacrifice flies (14), No. 2 in stolen bases (43), No. 6 in RBI (114), No. 9 in hits (173), No. 12 in doubles (32), No. 13 in triples (6) and at bats (518), No. 14 in runs scored (100), No. 18 in walks (52) and games started (127), ranking No. 23 in games played (127); Tyler Horner is No. 5 in walks (75), No. 6 in home runs (19), No. 7 in RBI (112), No. 8 in hit-by-pitches (23) and doubles (37), No. 13 in hits (165), No. 15 in games started (130), No. 16 in at bats (488), No. 19 in games played (130) and No. 24 in sacrifice flies (5); Korrey Siracusa is No. 2 in hit-by-pitches (37); Ka'ala Tam is No. 5 in stolen bases (34) and No. 19 in hit-by-pitches (17); Julien Jones is No. 9 in triples (7), No. 21 in stolen bases (20) and home runs (11), ranking No. 22 in RBI (71); with Kyle Norton No. 25 in stolen bases (19).
 
LOOKING AHEAD: OIT hits the road to the Treasure Valley of Idaho for a 4-game weekend series at College of Idaho.