ALVA, Okla. – The feel of winter may still be felt all around northwest Oklahoma, but opening day for Northwestern Oklahoma State's baseball team is upon us.
All head coach Sam Carel could say about his feelings towards this weekend's first four games for his team is that he is ready for new beginnings and the start of a season. The Rangers are coming off of a 14-35 record last season and have made adjustments to both the coaching staff as well as the roster in an effort to join the conference's elite.
“We've got a lot of guys that we need to get out there and see what they can do this weekend,” coach Carel said. “This will be a good weekend to see if they can continue what they've done and advance the process.”
Northwestern has added multiple junior college transfers this off-season, many of them following new pitching coach Aaron Gilbreath from Northeast Texas Community College. Gilbreath joins the Rangers staff this season and will use multiple pitching options this weekend due to pitch count restraints in the opening weekend of the season.
Former Ranger standout Jonathan Freemyer returns for his third season on the coaching staff, this time as the full-time hitting coach and recruiting coordinator. Freemyer will look to blend in the faces to a line-up that should feature centerfielder Garrett Douglas, second baseman Casey Dickerman and catcher Jacob Long. All three of those players return after extensive playing time last season and will look to lead the upper half of the line-up for Northwestern.
Northwestern will open the year against MIAA opponents Fort Hays State and Northwest Missouri State. Northwest Missouri grabbed the final spot in the MIAA post-season tournament last spring with a 19-20 conference record, in route to a 25-28 overall record. The Bearcats return four All-MIAA performers from last season including third-team honorees Anthony Caenepeel and Nikko Pablo. Kevin Handzlik and Ozzie Adams also return after honorable mention selections.
Fort Hays State finished just a few games back of the Bearcats with a 17-21 conference record leading to a 23-26 overall record. The Tigers had a bit of a roster overhaul over the off-season, welcoming in 20 newcomers to the program to join 14 returners from last season and seven redshirts. Utility player Nick Hammeke and infielder Alex Weiss both return for Fort Hays after All-Conference selections last season.
All the action for the Rangers will kick-off at 3 p.m. at Myers Stadium this afternoon, Feb. 3, against Fort Hays. Northwestern will return to the field on Saturday for a double-header against Fort Hays first, followed immediately after with a match-up against Northwest Missouri. First pitch for that double-header is scheduled for 12 p.m. The opening weekend series will finish up with a game at noon on Sunday against Northwest Missouri.
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