COMING UP: at Simpson, Tuesday, 2 p.m.; at Eastern Oregon (DH), Saturday, 11 a.m.; at Eastern Oregon (DH), Sunday, 11 a.m.

COMPLETE WEEKLY MEDIA NOTEBOOK
 
GAME DAY INFORMATION: Tuesday's game at Simpson will be streamed online via SU's YouTube Channel, with the 4-game series at Eastern Oregon streamed live on the Owls Sports Network (PPV - produced by EOU). Live Stats of all five games will be provided through the OIT SIDEARM Stats Portal.
 
MULTIMEDIA: Photos from the 2024 season are posted online via the OIT Baseball Flickr Page, while highlight clips are posted online via the new OIT Baseball YouTube Channel.
 
OPPONENT PREVIEW – SIMPSON: The Owls play a midweek game for the first time this season, traveling Tuesday to Redding for a match-up against regional rival, Simpson. The Redhawks (18-20) sit in second place in the California Pacific Conference standings following a series win over Westcliff and have victories this season against both Jessup and Bushnell. As a team, SU is hitting .282, clubbing 30 home runs – with the offense paced by infielders Kade Kupihea (.349 0 HR 10 RBI), Micah Kele (.317 2 HR 19 RBI) and Max Lopez (.296 5 HR 22 RBI), along with designated hitter Logan Gomes (.295 10 HR 30 RBI). On the mound, the duo of Garrett Brogdon (3-0 4.50 ERA) and Eric Winchester (3-5 6.14 ERA) have paced the Redhawks staff. OIT and Simpson have met every season since 2002 (minus the 2021 campaign where SU opted out due to COVID restrictions), with the Owls holding an 86-30 series lead, including a 47-22 mark in California.
 
OPPONENT PREVIEW – EASTERN OREGON: Tech starts the second half of the conference season, meeting Eastern Oregon for the second time. The Mountaineers (12-26, 3-13 CCC) have surpassed their win total from the past two seasons and split a recent home series with UBC, but dropped 3-of-4 over the weekend at Corban. EOU ranks second in the CCC in home runs (40), paced by an offensive attack led by middle infielders Joey Freitas (.320 6 HR 40 RBI) and Youhyeon Choi (.331 2 HR 17 RBI), outfielders Chase Nett (.294 6 HR 30 RBI) and Parker Cumberland (.330 4 HR 24 RBI), along with designated hitter, Mario Landeros (.328 8 HR 36 RBI). Starting pitchers Will Seslar (5-2 5.24 ERA) and Brock Cordes (1-6 7.33 ERA) lead Eastern in innings, with Tyler Rebsom (2-2 6.54 ERA) tops from the bullpen. OIT swept a 4-game series in Pendleton (originally scheduled for the Basin, but moved due to weather), scoring 46 runs in the series – stretching a win streak against their longtime rivals to 23 games.
 
BIG SPLIT VS. LC STATE: Facing the 19-time NAIA champion Lewis-Clark State, one of the Blue Bloods of Northwest collegiate baseball, the Hustlin' Owls earned a crucial 4-game series split with the No. 8-ranked Warriors. OIT had the lead in all four games of the series – posting their first-ever run-rule win over LC with a Game 2, 13-3, decision, while rallying for a 9-7 win in Game 4. Tech recorded at least 10 hits in all four games of the weekend – improving to 6-4 over their last 10 games against LC (after heading into last season just 6-76 all-time against the Warriors).
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS: As a team, the Owls are a perfect 10-0 in 2024 when scoring 10-or-more runs and 16-1 when allowing 5-runs-or-less. Tech heads into the week 15-1 when leading average six innings, with the team recording four wins when trailing after the seventh inning. Overall, OIT has recorded 20 games with 10-or-more hits and has a string of 21-straight games with at least seven hits.
 
HORNER EARNS THIRD PLAYER OF THE WEEK AWARD: Another big weekend at the plate netted OIT junior Tyler Horner his third Cascade Conference Player of the Week award for the 2024 season. The third-baseman/catcher was an extremely tough out against LC State, going 11-for-15 at the plate, adding four doubles, a home run and five RBI – reaching base in 11-straight plate appearances over a 3-game stretch. Horner improved his team-leading batting average to .401, with his 11 home runs on the season ranking No. 9 on the OIT single-season record list, while ranking second in the CCC with 15 doubles and 41 RBI.
 
ORTIZ HIT STREAK TO 18: Matthew Ortiz capped a remarkable month of March, going 6-for-17 with a pair of doubles in the series with LC State – extending his hitting streak to 18 games. The 18-game streak is the second-longest in program history behind a 23-game hit streak by Alex Poltz in 2018. Following a 5-for-35 start over the first 10 games of the season, Ortiz has responded in a big way, hitting a combined 43-for-106 (.406) over the last 26 outings.
 
TAM AND JONES KEY VS. LC: Corner outfielders Ka'ala Tam and Julien Jones provided a big boost to the OIT offense against LC – each providing big swings in the series against the Top-10 foe. Tam finished the weekend 7-for-15, driving in eight runs – extending a career-best hitting streak to 10 games – while providing the eighth inning go-ahead 3-run triple to secure the Game 4 victory. The leftfielder has hits in 17-of-20 games – hitting .377 during the stretch. Jones saw his batting average climb to .360 in the series, going a combined 9-for-16 against LC, recording four doubles and adding five RBI.
 
CHAPPLE GOES THE DISTANCE: Transfer Bronson Chapple continued his impressive season for the Hustlin' Owls, becoming the first Cascade Conference pitcher in 2024 to toss multiple complete games – picking up his league-leading sixth win against LC State. The right-hander held the potent Warriors offense to three runs on six hits, striking out five – picking up his sixth straight victory. Chapple heads into the new week with 61 strikeouts against just nine walks and ranks among the league leaders with a 3.08 ERA.
 
MORE FROM THE ARMS: The Owls received key innings from their bullpen in the series with LC – as Tim Williams tossed a season-high 3 1/3 innings in Game 3, holding the Warriors to one run on three hits. Game 4 was the key, as Landon Cheney allowed just one run on three hits in three innings of work – lowering his ERA to 2.70 over his last three appearances; Ryan Poling worked out of an inherited bases loaded, no-out jam – getting a double play ball and pop out to end the threat; while Riley Cronin tossed a 1-2-3 ninth inning for his sixth career save.
 
POLL POSITION: Tech received 65 voter points from the 20 national raters in the March 27 Top-25 poll – the most points in the Top-25 poll in program history. OIT is the third team listed in the others receiving votes category, while three preseason opponents (No. 2 LSU Shreveport, No. 6 Central Methodist, No. 7 Jessup) are in the Top-10. The next Top-25 poll will be released on Wednesday.
 
AROUND THE CONFERENCE: Home teams dominated this weekend, as UBC swept a 4-game series with Bushnell, LC State swept a 4-game series with College of Idaho, with Corban winning 3-of-4 against Eastern Oregon. This week, Corban travels to Bushnell, UBC is off to C of I, OIT heads to EOU, while LC hosts No. 2-ranked LSU Shreveport in a weekend series.
 
SUCCESS AT STEEN: Since making the move from Kiger Stadium to Steen Sports Park in 2022, the Hustlin' Owls have recorded a combined 31-16 record at their new diamond. This season, OIT is 7-5 at home – with 8-of-12 games against Top-25 opponents.
 
RECORD BOOK: Eleven OIT are currently ranked in the Top-25 of the Owls career record book. Patrick Arman holds the school record for wins (21), strikeouts (234), pitching starts (47) and innings pitched (303), ranking No. 3 in pitching appearances (57); Cody Dubray is No. 2 in strikeouts (217), No. 3 in pitching starts (35), No. 7 in pitching appearances (53), No. 8 in wins (12) and No. 10 in innings pitched (181); with Riley Cronin No. 4 in saves (6) and Tim Williams No. 12 in saves (3). Matthew Ortiz is No. 1 in sacrifice flies (14), No. 2 in stolen bases (45), No. 6 in RBI (119), No. 9 in hits (191) and runs scored (111), No. 10 in at bats (568), No. 12 in doubles (34), No. 13 in triples (6), No. 14 in walks (57), No. 15 in games started (139), ranking No. 16 in games played (139); Tyler Horner is No. 4 in home runs (22) and walks (78), No. 5 in RBI (124), No. 6 in doubles (41), No. 7 in hit-by-pitches (24), No. 10 in hits (190), No. 13 in games started (142), No. 14 in at bats (539), No. 15 in games played (142), ranking No. 24 in sacrifice flies (5); Korrey Siracusa is No. 2 in hit-by-pitches (38) and No. 22 in walks (48); Ka'ala Tam is No. 4 in stolen bases (37) and No. 13 in hit-by-pitches (20), ranking just outside the Top-25 in triples (4); Julien Jones is No. 9 in triples (7), No. 17 in stolen bases (23), No. 18 in RBI (75), ranking No. 22 in home runs (11) and just outside the Top-25 in doubles (24); with Kyle Norton No. 21 in stolen bases (21) and Dane Bradshaw No. 23 in stolen bases (20).
 
LOOKING AHEAD: The Owls close out a 9-game road swing next weekend with a 4-game series at Bushnell, before returning home to close the regular-season with 5-straight home games (April 23 vs. Simpson, April 27-28 vs. Corban).