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

COMPLETE WEEKLY MEDIA NOTEBOOK
 
GAME DAY INFORMATION: All four games of the Warner Pacific series will feature Live Stats through OIT's SIDEARM Stats Platform, with Live Video expected to be available through WP's YouTube Channel. WP will host their home games at Milwaukie High School.
 
MULTIMEDIA: Photos from the 2025 season, including the Owls Media Day session, are posted online via the OIT Baseball Flickr Page, with highlight clips and videos from the season will be posted on the OIT Baseball YouTube Channel.
 
ROAD WARRIORS: With the venue change of the Feb. 15-16 series vs. Simpson and last week's series with Corban, the Hustlin' Owls are scheduled to play their first 24 games away from the Basin – with the home opener tentatively set for March 22 vs. College of Idaho. Two seasons ago, Tech was in a similar situation, as weather forced the Owls to play their first 26 games on the road – but the club persevered and claimed the Cascade Conference regular-season title.
 
OPPONENT PREVIEW – WARNER PACIFIC: The traveling road show for the Hustlin' Owls heads to the Rose City for the first time in a decade (when Concordia left the CCC), with OIT meeting the newly restarted Warner Pacific program. The Knights (3-7, 2-4 CCC) return to the diamond for the first time since 1991, with the current club opening the year with a doubleheader split with Lewis & Clark, before dropping 3-of-4 to both Corban and Bushnell. WP is averaging 5.6 runs per game with a .241 team batting average, led by outfielders Mitchell Thoma-Britt (.364 1 HR 6 RBI) and Mason Deverna (.296 0 HR 3 RBI), catcher Giovanny Alvillar (.333 0 HR 7 RBI) and first-baseman Colin Schiller (.300 0 HR 3 RBI). The Knights pitching staff has a 6.62 team ERA, with starters Josiah Nickel (0-1 2.84 ERA) and Kaden Hindman (1-1 3.27 ERA) leading the nine-pitcher staff, along with two-way player Connor Hale (.321 1 HR 6 RBI; 1-0 6.23 ERA, 17 K). The two teams were District II rivals prior to both teams shuttering their programs – with OIT sweeping doubleheaders from WP in Portland during the 1989 and 1990 seasons, the last win, a 7-5 decision on April 25, 1991. The Owls hold a 9-1 all-time series lead.
 
BEST STARTS: The Hustlin' Owls head into the Warner Pacific series with an 12-4 overall record – the best 16-game start in program history. The current club has outdistanced themselves from the 2023 team that began 11-5 and the 2022 team that started 10-6. The start propelled Tech to the No. 21 ranking on the first NAIA BoChip power index – their highest ranking ever.
 
BATS ERUPT: OIT saw the ball extremely well in Keizer, combining for 55 runs and 51 hits in the series sweep. For the second-straight year, the Owls strung together 4-straight games with double-digit runs and ran a streak of double-digit hit games to five (have record 10-or-more hits in 12-of-16 games this season). Tech took advantage of opportunities – drawing 37 walks and 15 hit-by-pitches in the series, while striking out just 20 times. OIT leads the CCC in team batting average (.335), along with home runs (24).
 
SPEED THE KEY: The Owls racked up 13 stolen bases in the Corban series – including their sixth game of the season with 5-or-more stolen bases. As a team, OIT is 56-of-64 in stolen base attempts – leading the league in stolen bases per game, with Ka'ala Tam leading the league with 11 stolen bases on the year.
 
CLEAN BASEBALL: Tech continued their stellar defense in the series at Corban, committing just one error in 141 defensive chances. Heading into the Warner Pacific series, the Owls lead the league and are No. 5 in the NAIA with a .980 fielding percentage.
 
HORNER NAMED PLAYER OF THE WEEK: For the fourth time in his career, Tyler Horner was named Cascade Conference Player of the Week after dominating the four-game series at Corban. The senior was 9-for-16 in the series, hitting home runs in each of the final three games, adding a double and 12 RBI. During the series, Horner broke OIT's all-time hits, RBI and doubles records – reaching base in his 16th-straight game. Horner is tied for the league lead in home runs (7) and leads the circuit with 26 RBI.
 
CCC / NAIA WEST ALL-TIME HOME RUN CHASE: The 2025 season could see a new CCC all-time home run leader – as five players are trying to break the all-time marks (39 homers by Greg Schelhaas of College of Idaho from 1996-99 and 37 homers by Beau Mills of LC State during the 2007 season). Tyler Horner is No. 3 on the list with 34 homers, with Bushnell's Jordan Wilson (30) and LC's Dominic Signorelli (29) and Charlie Updegrave (29) in striking distance.
 
BARRY EXTENDS HIT STREAK TO 32: Shortstop Patrick Barry continued his assault of the record book, as the senior hit safely in all four games at Corban – pushing his hitting streak to 32 games. With his first hit in Game 1 of the series, Barry established a new CCC hit-streak record, his first hit in Game 3 broke the NAIA West Grouping all-time record, while a hit in Game 4 tied the all-time Northwest small college record (32 by Western Oregon's Grant Glover in 2011). Barry finished 8-for-17 with 11 runs scored and six RBI in the series and heads into this weekend leading the CCC with a .492 batting average.
 
JONES CONTINUES HOT START: The monster start to the 2025 season for Julien Jones continued, as Tech's right fielder finished the series 8-for-16 with nine runs scored, posting a pair of doubles, his seventh home run, along with six RBI. The senior, who leads the CCC in runs scored (26) added a league-best fourth outfield assist in just 16 games.
 
MORE WITH THE STICKS: It wasn't just the top of the Owls order that had success in the Corban series – as outfielders Dane Bradshaw and Ka'ala Tam, along with infielders Matthew Ortiz, Korrey Siracusa and Garrett Smith all were key in the four wins. Bradshaw hit his first home run of the season, finishing the trip 3-for-7 with six RBI, with Tam living on base – going 4-for-13 with four stolen bases and six RBI, adding four walks. Ortiz was 5-for-13 with seven RBI – moving into the No. 2 spot in program history for hits, Siracusa was 5-for-13 with two RBI, while Smith was 4-for-9 including his third home run of the year.
 
QUALITY STARTS: Starting pitching was crucial in the Corban series – as three of the four arms allowed two runs or fewer in their starts – putting the Owls in position to win. Isaac Hill threw OIT's first complete game of the year, holding the Warriors to two runs on five hits in the Game 2, 12-2 decision, while Landon Cheney followed  with four innings of one-run ball in the wild 18-9 victory in Game 3. Carson Glavich closed the series with a five inning start, holding the hosts to just two runs on three hits, as Tech completed the series sweep.
 
IN THE PEN: The Owls continued to get solid performances out of the bullpen, as relievers Riley Cronin, Drake Aboud and Alex Rodriguez each had quality outings. Cronin earned the save in relief in Game 1 – retiring the final four batters in order to preserve a 10-7 win – his third save of the year and the tenth of his OIT career. Aboud tossed a scoreless fifth inning in Game 3 of the series, striking out two, while Rodriguez picked up the Game 3 win in relief, allowing just one hit and striking out two in three shutout frames.
 
AROUND THE LEAGUE: OIT was the lone conference team last week to complete a weekend sweep, as LC State, Bushnell and Eastern Oregon taking 2-of-3 league counters against their opponents. Tech, LC, Bushnell and UBC sit atop the standings with a 4-2 mark, with the remaining teams in the league all tied at 2-4. This weekend, Corban makes the short trip to Bushnell, LC opens their home schedule against EOU, with UBC making the long trip to C of I.
 
CHANGES IN THE CASCADE CONFERENCE: The league added an eighth team during the offseason, as Warner Pacific will offer baseball for the first time since 1990. The league will play a 37-game schedule – three 3-game series to start (creating an unbalanced schedule), followed by a 4-game round-robin schedule against all opponents. The Top-5 teams in the final standings will earn bids to the CCC Championships, to be played at the regular-season champion.
 
NEW TOP-25 POLL: Despite a 12-4 record and their No. 21 BoChip rating, OIT was not included in both the Cascade Conference bi-weekly rating or the first NAIA Coaches' Poll of the regular-season. Undefeated LSU Shreveport holds the top spot, followed by Tennessee Wesleyan, Southeastern, Georgia Gwinnett and Cumberlands. Two preseason opponents are in the poll – No. 8 Hope International and No. 25 The Master's, with two CCC teams in the ranking, No. 24 LC State, with UBC receiving votes.
 
RECORD BOOK: Currently, 10 players rank among the Top-25 in the OIT career record book. Matthew Ortiz holds the record for sacrifice flies (20), ranking No. 2 in hits (236), No. 3 in stolen bases (53), No. 4 in RBI (143) and runs scored (144), No. 6 in at bats (691) and walks (73), No. 7 in doubles (41), No. 8 in games started (169), No. 9 in triples (7), No. 10 in games played (169) and No. 14 in sacrifice hits (8), with Tyler Horner No. 1 in home runs (34), RBI (168), hits (242), doubles (53) and walks (92), No. 4 in hit by pitches (32), No. 7 in games started (174), No. 8 in at bats (675) and games played (175), No. 9 in triples (7), ranking No. 13 in runs (106). Ka'ala Tam is No. 2 in stolen bases (57), No. 6 in sacrifice flies (8), No. 8 in hit by pitches (27), No. 10 in runs (110), No. 14 in home runs (16), sacrifice hits (8) and RBI (95), No. 15 in walks (59), No. 17 in games played (151), No. 19 in at bats (456), No. 21 in triples (5) and games started (123) and No. 24 in hits (130); Julien Jones is No. 2 in hit by pitches (40), No. 4 in sacrifice flies (9), No. 5 in stolen bases (36), No. 6 in home runs (20), No. 8 in RBI (107), No. 9 in triples (7), No. 12 in runs (107), No. 14 in doubles (31), No. 16 in hits (145), No. 25 in at bats (399), ranking just outside the Top-25 in walks (44). Korrey Siracusa holds the mark for hit by pitches (45), ranking No. 16 in walks (57) and No. 20 in runs scored (95); Riley Cronin is No. 2 in saves (10) and No. 19 in pitching appearances (40); Tim Williams is No. 5 in saves (5); Dane Bradshaw is No. 17 in stolen bases (27), Bronson Chapple is No. 20 in wins (9), with Patrick Barry No. 21 in stolen bases (22).
 
NEXT WEEK: Tech continues their 24-game road trip to open the season with a 4-game road series at British Columbia, March 15-16.