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Owls outscore British Columbia
April 30, 2007
are occurrences in Sunday's NAIA Region I baseball doubleheader at Leo J. Bocchi Field Saturday.
Oregon Tech pitcher Kyle Koontz hit 3-for-3 as a designated hitter, 5-foot-4 freshman Dustin Kim Seu hit a home run, and 6-foot, 240-pound Sean Teaters reached base on a bunt single.
There was another rarity: A Hustlin' Owls sweep.
The Owls pounded 34 hits in the twinbill, earning a 15-13, 12-9 sweep of visiting British Columbia and finishing their season with three wins in a four-game weekend series.
“It feels good to win our last game playing college baseball,” senior shortstop Chris Curtis said. “It was kind of a long, rough year, but we just figured we'd just lay it all out these last few games.”
This weekend's series also established a solid starting point for next season, when the Owls lose just three seniors: Curtis, Koontz and centerfielder Phil Ouellette.
“It's gonna give them some confidence,” Ouellette said. “They know what the league's about now, and there isn't a team out there they can't beat.”
OIT (10-28, 7-23) swung the bats early and often, jumping on fastballs early in the count. Freshman outfielder Quinn Hummel gave the Owls their first lead in Game 1 with his second single of the game, and Tech eventually put up all 15 of its runs between the fourth and seventh innings.
The Owls established a season high with 18 hits in the opener. They then reached their second-highest mark with 16 in the nightcap. They also reached double-digit run totals for the third and fourth times this season.
“We were aggressive,” Ouellette said. “They came right after us, so our mentality was if the first-pitch fastball is there, drive it. It worked out real well for us.”
Hummel, who entered the series hitting just .233, earned base hits in each of his first four at-bats in Sunday's opener. He hit 7-for-13 in the four-game set and raised his season average 55 points.
“I've just been a lot more selective with my pitches,” Hummel said. “Now, even if I don't hit the ball square, it's falling. Every time I get a hit, I get more confident and keep swinging.”
Hummel did his damage from the No. 6 spot in the order and, in the nightcap, he had plenty of help behind him. Koontz and Teaters each went 3-for-3 and walked in their other plate appearances, and Koontz made the most of his first at-bat of the season with a two-run single in the bottom of the first.
“I wanted to hit here, but (coach Pete) Whisler just wanted me to pitch, so I just went with what the coach wanted,” Koontz said. “I went up there, and I was just sitting and trying to hit everything up the middle and away. It's fun to go out and pitch a good game, then in the second game get a hit.”
Also seeing action in different places were pitchers Casey Burton and Ryan Henry, who finished the nightcap in the outfield with regular second baseman Jon Tapia, and regular outfielder and No. 2 hitter Marcus James, who started on the mound and stayed out of the batting order.
In the opener, Koontz was effective on the mound, pitching seven-plus innings and allowing five hits. He left after walking the first two batters of the eighth, but the Owls had cruised to a 15-3 lead.
That lead nearly disappeared.
Relief pitchers Ruben Baca and Henry walked six of the 10 batters they faced and, after Kevin Huntley surrendered a two-run single to the first man he faced, the Owls' advantage was just three runs.
Huntley, who threw five innings and earned a save in two appearances Saturday, settled down from there, only allowing a solo home run to UBC designated hitter Fletcher Vynne in the ninth.
“We like to keep things interesting sometimes,” Curtis said.
The Owls' pitching staff was a big question mark entering the weekend, but with a patchwork set of arms and starters logging as many innings as they could handle, Tech did just enough to get by with what it had.
“Our pitching came back after playing Lewis-Clark State Tuesday and Wednesday, after throwing some pitches. Casey gutted it up (Saturday), and Kyle did today,” Whisler said.
- Josh Petrie
are occurrences in Sunday's NAIA Region I baseball doubleheader at Leo J. Bocchi Field Saturday.
Oregon Tech pitcher Kyle Koontz hit 3-for-3 as a designated hitter, 5-foot-4 freshman Dustin Kim Seu hit a home run, and 6-foot, 240-pound Sean Teaters reached base on a bunt single.
There was another rarity: A Hustlin' Owls sweep.
The Owls pounded 34 hits in the twinbill, earning a 15-13, 12-9 sweep of visiting British Columbia and finishing their season with three wins in a four-game weekend series.
“It feels good to win our last game playing college baseball,” senior shortstop Chris Curtis said. “It was kind of a long, rough year, but we just figured we'd just lay it all out these last few games.”
This weekend's series also established a solid starting point for next season, when the Owls lose just three seniors: Curtis, Koontz and centerfielder Phil Ouellette.
“It's gonna give them some confidence,” Ouellette said. “They know what the league's about now, and there isn't a team out there they can't beat.”
OIT (10-28, 7-23) swung the bats early and often, jumping on fastballs early in the count. Freshman outfielder Quinn Hummel gave the Owls their first lead in Game 1 with his second single of the game, and Tech eventually put up all 15 of its runs between the fourth and seventh innings.
The Owls established a season high with 18 hits in the opener. They then reached their second-highest mark with 16 in the nightcap. They also reached double-digit run totals for the third and fourth times this season.
“We were aggressive,” Ouellette said. “They came right after us, so our mentality was if the first-pitch fastball is there, drive it. It worked out real well for us.”
Hummel, who entered the series hitting just .233, earned base hits in each of his first four at-bats in Sunday's opener. He hit 7-for-13 in the four-game set and raised his season average 55 points.
“I've just been a lot more selective with my pitches,” Hummel said. “Now, even if I don't hit the ball square, it's falling. Every time I get a hit, I get more confident and keep swinging.”
Hummel did his damage from the No. 6 spot in the order and, in the nightcap, he had plenty of help behind him. Koontz and Teaters each went 3-for-3 and walked in their other plate appearances, and Koontz made the most of his first at-bat of the season with a two-run single in the bottom of the first.
“I wanted to hit here, but (coach Pete) Whisler just wanted me to pitch, so I just went with what the coach wanted,” Koontz said. “I went up there, and I was just sitting and trying to hit everything up the middle and away. It's fun to go out and pitch a good game, then in the second game get a hit.”
Also seeing action in different places were pitchers Casey Burton and Ryan Henry, who finished the nightcap in the outfield with regular second baseman Jon Tapia, and regular outfielder and No. 2 hitter Marcus James, who started on the mound and stayed out of the batting order.
In the opener, Koontz was effective on the mound, pitching seven-plus innings and allowing five hits. He left after walking the first two batters of the eighth, but the Owls had cruised to a 15-3 lead.
That lead nearly disappeared.
Relief pitchers Ruben Baca and Henry walked six of the 10 batters they faced and, after Kevin Huntley surrendered a two-run single to the first man he faced, the Owls' advantage was just three runs.
Huntley, who threw five innings and earned a save in two appearances Saturday, settled down from there, only allowing a solo home run to UBC designated hitter Fletcher Vynne in the ninth.
“We like to keep things interesting sometimes,” Curtis said.
The Owls' pitching staff was a big question mark entering the weekend, but with a patchwork set of arms and starters logging as many innings as they could handle, Tech did just enough to get by with what it had.
“Our pitching came back after playing Lewis-Clark State Tuesday and Wednesday, after throwing some pitches. Casey gutted it up (Saturday), and Kyle did today,” Whisler said.
- Josh Petrie
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| Freshman dominates pool |
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