Another week down in the glorious time of year we call baseball season. Division 1 finally kicked off last week, giving us some great games from the three D1 schools from Oklahoma including 5/9 games being decided by two or fewer runs, and one of the four that wasn’t being an extra innings top 10 win for OU.
Just because the big names finally got started doesn’t mean the smaller schools in the state went away. In fact, they had everything the big schools had and more. USAO took 2/3 from #7 Bellevue (I should’ve stuck with my gut and made it the MOTW last week), Northeastern State walked off in-state opponent SEOSU after 11 innings in the game of the year so far, and Seminole State walked off Butler CC in wild fashion after scoring on a wild pitch for the 3rd time in a 4-3 game.
Don’t forget, on top of all the madness in college baseball last week, we also got the start of scrimmage season for high schools across the state.
Matchup of the week (College) – Central Oklahoma vs Central Missouri
Amongst the chaos of college baseball both nationwide and in Oklahoma, one of the few constants we’ve been able to rely on is UCO winning and their pitchers shutting opposing offenses down. The Bronchos have given up just under 2.5 runs per game through their first 11 games this season, and have outscored opponents 96-27 overall.
The Broncho offense is holding up their end of the bargain more often than not as well, eclipsing the 15-run mark in over 25% of their games this season.
Their first conference series of the year will be by far their biggest test of the young season though, hitting the road for three games against a Central Missouri team that sits at #4 in the nation in the latest poll. UCM will come into the series fresh off of back-to-back four-game sweeps over Arkansas Tech and Davenport, winning three of those eight games in run-rule fashion. A series win this weekend for UCO would almost guarantee a spot in the top ten for the Bronchos, cementing them as the new team to beat in the MIAA this year.
Top Sooner State Showdown (College) – NOC Tonkawa vs Rose State
There aren’t many in-state matchups this week, but the best of the bunch is a midweek matchup between NOC Tonkawa and Rose State.
NOC got off to a scorching hot start this season, finding themselves at 9-1 including a four-game stretch where they outscored their opponents 92-10. However, the shine of their early season success has begun the fade in the past week, dropping the final three games of their series against Pratt CC. They’ll have a chance to get back on track on their home field in a big way against a D1 JUCO opponent in Rose State this Tuesday.
Rose State also enters the week on a short losing streak, dropping both games against Hutchinson CC this weekend. The Raiders will have a nine-day break after this one as they get ready for their first in-region series of the year starting Feb. 29 against Seminole State.
Where I’ll be this week – Enid vs Tuttle
I’m not sure how this happened, but I could not find a single college game this week I would be able to make it to. That isn’t going to stop me from finding a game to cover for you fine people though, so I’m headed out to Tuttle for, as far as scrimmages go, should be a closely contested matchup.
Enid comes into the season fresh off one of their most successful seasons in recent years, making it to the 6A state championship before running out of arms against a potent Bixby offense at Bricktown. The Plainsmen lost last year’s ace Jake Kennedy to Oklahoma State but returned nearly all of the core that led their deep run in 2023 including the PBR Oklahoma player of the year from last season, Oklahoma State signee Garrett Shull.
The Plainsmen will face off with the reigning 4A state champions, a group that features a 2024 Oklahoma State signee of their own in Braylon Brooks. The Tigers’ top-end depth doesn’t end there, as they have a top 10 player in the state in each of the next three classes. Being a scrimmage, you can’t put much stake in the outcome, but it should give us a glimpse into how these two state championship level squads have reloaded in 2024.
High School Scrimmages to Keep an Eye On
Beyond the Enid vs Tuttle matchup, here are a few more scrimmages this week that could give us a glimpse into how some of the best teams in the state could look this season.
Feb. 19 – Bixby vs Jenks
Feb. 19 – Carl Albert vs Edmond Memorial
Feb. 20 – Owasso vs Union
Feb. 20 – Sand Springs vs Bixby
Feb. 20 – Deer Creek vs Westmoore
Feb. 22 – Mustang vs Edmond North
Feb. 22 – Heritage Hall vs Edmond Santa Fe
Feb. 24 – Union vs Broken Arrow
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