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ORU Baseball still optimistic
about season
By Lindsay Goodier
It's
the classic sport of an American childhood: Baseball. Nearly every
little boy dreams of playing in the major leagues, but few keep
playing after Little League. The Golden Eagles baseball team is
in the midst of pursuing those dreams.
One of these young men pursuing this dream is the freshman rookie
catcher Eric Hanson. "The first word I ever spoke was ball,"
and baseball has always been my favorite," Hanson said.
Hanson grew up in Indiana and was greatly influenced by the Chicago
area 'baseball fever.' He was delighted to be recruited by ORU,
and is now learning that the game increases in pace with higher
levels.
"I didn't realize how good some of the older players are; they
could be playing in the major leagues in three to five years,"
Hanson said.
As ORU continues to pursue their fifth straight Mid-Continent Conference
title, they are grasping on to a serious work ethic.
"I have learned so much this year," sophomore outfielder
Grant MacAlmon said. "We have to be disciplined in all we do.
The way we handle our time is extremely important."
Although their record as of March 25 was 14-8, the team has kept
their focus strictly on winningÑnot on what they're ranked.
This year's team includes preseason All-American pitcher, senior
Mike Rogers and first-baseman Wilton Reynolds, who has already been
named the Mid-Continent Conference Baseball Player of the Week twice
this season.
The baseball team has already given such teams as No. 15 Baylor
and No. 21 Arizona State a run for their money. However, the team
eventually lost to Arizona State 4-3, when two runs were scored
by Arizona in the bottom of the eighth to overcome a 2-3 deficit.
The three game series against the University of Baylor was a similar
story. Two games were tied going into the bottom of the ninth inning,
but both would be lost to Baylor's powerful scoring ability.
With games like these that could have gone either way, sophomore
catcher Lonnie Murphy said "we are playing against the big
dogs," but firmly believes that "we could easily beat
them."
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