2023 Baseball Notebook (Oregon Tech)

SERIES SWEEP: This past weekend saw the Yotes open up Cascade Conference play with a four-game sweep over British Columbia, which was the first time the Yotes had swept the Thunderbirds since 2001.
 
HISTORY VS. OIT: The Yotes currently hold a 109-38 series lead against Oregon Tech. The last meetings came last season where the Yotes completed a four-game sweep which took place in Caldwell.
 
HIT MACHINE: Jonah Hultberg is once again leading the team in batting average, entering the weekend with a .460 average. Last year's NAIA All-American is leading the squad in hits (46), RBI's (32), total bases (74) and is tied for the team lead in home runs with Skyler Sadora (four).
 
CAREER GAME: Sophomore Ben Gaff had himself a game on Sunday against British Columbia, contributing four hits and four RBI's to lead the Yotes to the series sweep. His performance raised his batting average above .300, now sitting at .333. His game on Sunday was a new career high in both hits and RBI's.
 
CONSISTENT BATS: Among qualified batters, six Yotes currently hold a batting average above .300. Those six batters combine for 190 out of 290 hits that the squad has as a team.
 
CONFERENCE LEADERS: The College of Idaho currently leads the cascade conference in runs scored (224), RBI's (202), and triples (16). The Yotes are currently also on top of the CCC standings through the opening weekend of conference play.
 
ACE OUT OF THE PEN: Newcomer Nick Eliason has been stellar out of the bullpen. The Billings, Montana native has compiled a 3-1 record for the team, as well as registering a pair of saves. In 24 innings pitched, Eliason has struck out 30 batters, as he currently leads the team in strikeouts.
 
SCOUTING THE OWLS: The Owls enter the weekend just behind the Yotes in the standings, also 4-0 in conference play while having a total record of 17-9. Korrey Siracusa is leading OIT in batting average, entering the weekend hitting .354 while recording 10 RBI's. The Owls home run leader is Ka'ala Tam, who has hit three long balls, while Matthew Ortiz leads OIT in RBI's with 25.
 
AROUND THE CCC: The Yotes and Owls hold the top spots in the Cascade Collegiate Conference, as both teams swept the opening weekend of conference play. The Warriors of Lewis-Clark State enter the weekend in third with a conference record of 3-1. Corban and Bushnell follow in fourth and fifth, with Corban having a conference record of 1-3, while the Beacons of Bushnell have yet to play a conference matchup. British Columbia and Eastern Oregon round out the conference as both teams were swept to open conference play.