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

COMPLETE WEEKLY MEDIA NOTEBOOK
 
GAME DAY INFORMATION: Live Stats of all games will be available through OIT's SIDEARM Stats Portal, while all Cascade Conference games will be broadcast live on the Urban Edge Network.
 
OPPONENT PREVIEW – EASTERN OREGON: The 22-game road trip to start the season heads eastward to La Grande, as the Owls will meet Eastern Oregon in a 4-game series (first three games count in the league standings). The Mountaineers (3-8, 1-2 CCC) opened their home schedule last weekend, dropping 3-of-4 to rival College of Idaho, as the EOU pitching staff has posted a 10.28 team ERA through 11 games – surrendering 15, 17 and 15 runs to the Yotes. Offensively, Eastern is averaging 6.5 runs per game and has a team batting average of .253, with outfielders Greyson McDaniel (.425 1 HR 5 RBI), Lucas Smith (.281 4 HR 9 RBI) and Carson Gerding (.314 0 HR 3 RBI) leading the way, along with infielder Jace Nagler. Top arms for the Mounties include starters Reed Stamps (0-0 3.12 ERA), Easton Corey (0-1 5.40 ERA) and Jace Schow (0-2 6.97 ERA), with Will Slater (0-0 0.00 ERA) the top reliever. OIT currently holds a 58-40 edge in the all-time series, including a 27-1 record against the Mountaineers since EOU revived their baseball program in 2020.
 
HANDCUFFED IN KEIZER: The excitement was high for the Hustlin' Owls after a tremendous start to the season in Arizona and California, but Tech could not maintain the energy in Keizer, as Corban took 3-of-4 games from Tech at Roto Rooter Park. Heading into the series, the Owls posted 9-or-more hits in all 10 games played, while in Marion County, OIT combined for just 26 total hits in the series, hitting at a .210 clip, while going 4-for-24 with runners in scoring position.
 
DIFFERENCE IN THE WIN VS. LOSSES: The Owls avoided a sweep with a Game 2 win, rallying from a 6-2 deficit to score the final seven runs in the game. In that win, Tech had 10 hits, including five extra-base hits, capitalizing on nine walks and two hit-by-pitches. In the three other games in the series, OIT scored a combined two runs, had just 16 total hits and drew five walks.
 
TOPS WITH THE BAT: Only four players posted batting averages above .300 in the Corban series – catcher Andrew Sharp, first baseman Jacob Cook, second baseman Nick Gimino and centerfielder Michael O'Daniel. Sharp led the way, going a combined 6-for-14, recording three doubles and driving in three, with Cook finishing 3-for-8 with a double. Gimino was 3-for-10 with two runs scored and drove in the go-ahead run in Game 2, with O'Daniel finishing 3-for-10, including a homer and his team-leading fourth triple of the season.
 
SOLID STARTS: The starting pitching for the Owls was good enough to win games for the majority of the series – including a quality effort from Noah Loew in Game 3. The right-hander did not allow an earned run in six innings, holding Corban to just three hits – but was saddled with the loss. Landon Cheney grinded through five innings in Game 2, working around four earned runs and seven hits for a no-decision, while Aiden Lundquist allowed three runs in three innings in the Game 4 start.
 
MAZAMA MAGIC: Redshirt freshman Marcos Ulloa-Ford has been the biggest surprise in the Hustlin' Owls bullpen, as the Mazama grad has been lights out to start the 2026 season. After making just one appearance in 2025, Ulloa-Ford has been a workhorse out of the pen, leading the staff with 11 innings of work, allowing just one run, one walk and striking out a team-high 12. Against Corban, the local product slammed the door on the Warriors, tossing four shutout innings of relief, holding the host school to three hits and fanning three for the second win of his collegiate career.
 
MORE FROM THE PEN: Three others put up zeroes out of the bullpen in the Corban series – veteran arms Kaden Melzer and Caleb Randolph, along with transfer Collin Hysell. Melzer and Randolph kept the Owls close in Game 4, combining to throw five innings of relief, holding Corban to just four hits and striking out six. Hysell did the same in Game 3, allowing just one hit in two strong innings of work.
 
PRESEASON RANKINGS: The Hustlin' Owls were selected a close fourth out of eight teams in the Cascade Conference Preseason Poll, released in October. Tech earned 43 voter points from the eight coaches, just behind Bushnell (45) – with British Columbia (60) and Lewis-Clark State (59) taking the top spots. UBC opens the season ranked No. 10 in the NAIA Top-25 poll, with LC at No. 21.
 
AROUND THE CONFERENCE: League play began last week, with none of the four series ending in sweeps. The marquee match-up saw Top-25 teams from British Columbia and Lewis-Clark State meet in Vancouver, with the two teams splitting the four games – but UBC claiming 2-of-3 CCC counters. Bushnell took 3-of-4 from Warner Pacific and College of Idaho won 3-of-4 at Eastern Oregon, with both of the victors going 2-1 in CCC match-ups. This weekend, LC heads to Warner Pacific, UBC is at Bushnell, with C of I traveling to Corban.
 
CCC TEAM LEADERS: Batting Average – Bushnell .337, College of Idaho .321, Oregon Tech .302, LC State .299, Corban .292; Runs Per Game – College of Idaho 11.4, Bushnell 9.3, LC State 8.6, British Columbia 8.5, Oregon Tech 7.9; Home Runs – Bushnell 22, College of Idaho 13, British Columbia 12, LC State 11, Oregon Tech 8; Stolen Bases – Corban 40, Bushnell 32, College of Idaho 28, Oregon Tech 27, British Columbia 24; ERA – LC State 2.51, British Columbia 4.24, College of Idaho 4.41, Bushnell 4.50, Oregon Tech 5.22.
 
CCC INDIVIDUAL LEADERS: Batting Average – Kansai Sugimoto (UBC) .485, Austin Moon (CI) .444, David Krahn (UBC) .444, Nick Gimino (OIT) .426, Greyson McDaniel (EOU) .425; Danny Womack (BU) 17, Chase Elliott (CRB) 17, Kyle Yip (UBC) 16, Nate Stevens (BU) 15, James Hull (CI) 15; Hits – Max Richards (BU) 24, David Krahn (UBC) 24, Albert Jennings (BU) 23, Nate Stevens (BU) 21, Peyton Rickard (CRB) 21; Home Runs – Dylan Carson (BU) 9, Mitchell Thoma-Britt (WPU) 4, Nate Stevens (BU) 4, Lucas Smith (EOU) 4, Jack Ryan (CI) 4, Albert Jennings (BU) 4; RBI – Dylan Carson (BU) 26, David Krahn (UBC 20, Albert Jennings (BU) 19, Nate Stevens (BU) 16, Bryce Johnson (LC) 16.
 
RECORD BOOK: Currently, two players rank among the Top-25 in the OIT career record book. Kaden Melzer No. 8 in saves (4) and Landon Cheney sits at No. 16 in wins (16) and No. 20 in pitching appearances (43).
 
NEXT WEEK:  Tech continues their season-opening road swing with a trip to the Treasure Valley of Idaho an a 4-game series at College of Idaho (March 7-8).