Oakton Baseball began their much anticipated 2021 season this past week battling tough Region IV competition. The Owls opened up at the home of the Schaumburg Boomers, Wintrust Field on March 17 and 19, followed by their first home double-header on March 25, concluding with a road match in River Grove on March 28.
March 17 vs. Joliet Junior College:
The Owls met the Wolves of Joliet Junior College at Wintrust Field to open their regular season. Unfortunately the opener didn't go the Owls way as they dropped the game 6-1.
Ashton Schwab started the Owls season off on the mound throwing 4 innings, striking out 4 and giving up 3 unearned runs.
Christian Seegers drove in
Jalen Avery on a sacrifice fly for the Owls only run. The game was ultimately called in the 8th inning due to rain in the area.
Box Score
March 19 vs. Elgin Community College:
Elgin met the Owls again at Wintrust Field in a back-and-forth battle ending in a 9-8 loss for Oakton. Sophomore
Joe Gabel got the nod to start the second game of the year striking out 4 in 3 innings of work. Elgin jumped out to a 4 run lead in the first inning. The Owls best inning was the fourth, scoring 6 runs.
Brendan Holloway and
Christian Seegers led the Owls with 2 RBI each. Errors ultimately were the downfall for the Owls resulting in their second loss of the season.
Box Score
March 25 vs. Black Hawk College:
Oakton split the home opener double-header against Black Hawk College-Moline on Thursday. Game 1 resulted in a 4-1 loss for the Owls.
George Valencia and
Cullen Geary pitched well in relief throwing 3 combined shutout innings and striking out 4 in total. Black Hawk's starting pitcher, Payton Lawrence, threw a complete game giving up one lone run to
Andrew Smart on a sacrifice hit.
The Owls got their first win of the year in Game 2 on the back of sophomore
Nathan Pardini who earned the win by throwing 6 scoreless innings.
Jack Dupuis led the Owls with 2 hits while
Aaron Vertuno,
Gabe McCall and
Brandon Matias each had an RBI. Left-hander
Brian Massaccesi held on for the save to close out the win 4-3.
Box Score (Game 1)
Box Score (Game 2)
March 26 vs. Madison College:
Back at Wintrust Field, The Owls fought hard to earn their second win of the year in a make-up game against #20 Madison College. Freshman
Jack Dupuis continued to swing a hot bat driving in 2 runs, while catcher
Masen Beatty scored 3 times. Freshman
Michael Padron shined striking out 10 Wolfpack batters in four innings of one-hit relief, earning an NJCAA Division III Pitcher of the Week nomination.
Box Score
March 28 @ Triton College:
The first road test came in the Battle of River Road taking on Triton College. The Owls jumped to a 4 run first inning thanks to a home run by
Christian Seegers. Shortstop
CJ Deshazer and catcher
Masen Beatty also scored 2 runs and had 2 RBI each on the day. Taking on a tough Triton Trojan team, the Owls held the lead until the bottom of the eighth inning, leading to extra innings. In the tenth inning, the Trojans walked it off on a solo home run by Mike Vaca, making the final score 12-11.
Box Score
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The Owls will look to bounce back this week at home on April 1 against Sauk Valley Community College followed by a game with Harper College on April 2.
Follow Oakton Baseball all season long by watching live streams at
Vimeo.com/OaktonOwls, on Twitter
@OaktonOwls, and on the Oakton Owls
website.
Written by: Mark Macek
