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Oklahoma City University Athletics

Oklahoma City University
Home Of Champions|73 National Championships
Tyler Williams

Baseball

Stars look to impact national scene

OCU begins season with 1 p.m. doubleheader against York

OKLAHOMA CITY – Oklahoma City University will field a potent offense once more to propel the Stars into the 2020 baseball campaign.
OCU will make its season debut in a 1 p.m. doubleheader Saturday against York (Neb.) at Jim Wade Stadium.
The Stars have traditionally been a high-scoring outfit. OCU ranked sixth in doubles (133), 11th in home runs per game (1.23) and slugging percentage (.527), 12th in doubles a game (2.22), 13th in runs batted in (420) and 14th in batting average (.326) as a team among the NAIA last year.
Oklahoma City comes off a 46-14 performance last season, when the Stars advanced to the NAIA Championship Opening Round for the 10th time in 11 years.
"This team will be built around the offense," OCU coach Denney Crabaugh said. "We will be closer to some of those big offensive teams we've had in the past. We are going to have a lot of power. With some of the new additions we brought in, and Tyler Williams of course leads it. We're going to be able to score a lot of runs this year."
Oklahoma City owns the most victories in college baseball since 1991 with 1,433 wins. Two Stars were drafted off last year's team, bringing OCU's all-time total to 77 who have joined the professional ranks via the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft and 163 OCU alumni who have turned pro.
Watch live, listen to or follow the Stars this season at Jim Wade Stadium by visiting OCU's Stretch Internet portal. The majority of OCU's games will be live streamed. Cost to watch the games will be $7.95 per game and $49.95 for a season pass. Randy Renner will have the call.
 
TOP RETURNERS
 
• Tyler Williams opens the season as a preseason NAIA all-American after becoming a first-team all-American and Sooner Athletic Conference player of the year in 2019. Williams, a senior outfielder from Peoria, Ariz., collected a .408 batting average with 19 home runs, 79 RBIs and 12 stolen bases as a junior. He ranked fourth nationally in slugging percentage (.851), seventh in RBIs and RBIs per game (1.41) and ninth in homers. He pounded four homers with eight RBIs against Mid-America Christian in the conference tournament last season
• Peyton Crispin grabbed first-team all-SAC honors last year. Crispin, a junior infielder from Lookeba, Okla., produced a .401 average, 18 doubles, five homers and 39 RBIs last season
• Noah Barks landed second-team all-conference in 2019. Barks, a sophomore infielder from Mustang, Okla., provided OCU with a .331 average, 16 homers, 66 RBIs and nine steals as a freshman
• Bryson Lierle picked up second-team all-SAC last season. Lierle, a senior infielder from Altus, Okla., posted a .325 batting average, 16 doubles, nine homers and 51 RBIs
• Brandon Goldston and Jake Patterson played key roles in OCU's pitching staff last season. Goldston, a senior right-hander from Leedey, Okla., went 8-5 with 65 strikeouts in 72 innings pitched, while Patterson, a senior left-hander from Ardmore, Okla., put together an 8-2 mark with 67 strikeouts in 65.2 innings
 
NEW FACES
 
• Cross Factor, a junior outfielder from Yukon, Okla., came to OCU after being at Oklahoma State last year. He took first-team all-conference with Cowley (Kan.) as a freshman, when he had a .374 average, nine homers and 66 runs driven in
• Gunner Halter, a senior infielder from Overland Park, Kan., joined the Stars after a year at Mississippi State. Halter experienced his most success on the college level as a sophomore at Seminole State (Okla.), where he took all-American honors with a .394 average, 20 homers and 60 RBIs
• Aaron McGeorge, a senior right-handed pitcher from Lexington, Ky., arrived at OCU from the University of Kentucky. He was rated among the top 100 junior-college prospects with Wabash Valley (Ill.)
• Dalton Reed, a senior infielder from Roff, Okla., put together a .222 average, six homers and 26 RBIs with Kentucky last year. Reed became a two-time NJCAA all-American with Seminole State, where he hit .364 with 44 homers and 136 RBIs in two years
• Tanner Sparks, a sophomore right-handed pitcher from Shawnee, Okla., transferred to OCU from Oklahoma State. Sparks took prep all-American honors while leading Shawnee to three state championships
• Tanner Schoeninger, a junior right-handed pitcher from Fort Collins, Colo., and Jacob Wright, a junior left-handed pitcher from Cass City, Mich., are expected to make an impact with the pitching staff. Schoeninger became a Star after two years at Northeastern (Colo.), and Wright spent time at Delta (Mich.)
 
PRESEASON BUZZ
 
• OCU grabbed the second spot in the preseason SAC poll as voted upon by league coaches
• In the national rankings, the Stars will open the season at No. 10 in the top 25. OCU collected 349 points in the ratings
 
MEET THE COACH
 
• Denney Crabaugh stands one win shy of 1,500 career victories at Oklahoma City. He has directed OCU to a 1,499-460-2 mark with 14 NAIA World Series trips, 14 50-win seasons and the 2005 national championship in 31 years
• Crabaugh has coached 88 all-Americans, 145 future pros, 63 NAIA scholar-athletes, 16 CoSIDA academic all-Americans and seven national players of the year
• Brad Wieck, now of the Chicago Cubs, is the latest OCU alum to reach the majors when he came up with the San Diego Padres in September 2018. Five OCU alumni coached by Crabaugh and seven former OCU players all-time have become major leaguers, including 2006 National League batting champion Freddy Sanchez
• Crabaugh's daughter Amy is a freshman on the OCU softball team. Crabaugh's daughter Mindy was an all-American with OCU softball, while his son Cody was an all-American pitcher for the Stars
 
MARK ON YOUR CALENDAR
 
• The Stars meet third-ranked USAO, who is favored to win the SAC, at 6 p.m. April 16 at Jim Wade Stadium and 1 p.m. April 18 in a doubleheader in Chickasha, Okla.
• Oklahoma City faces seventh-rated Bellevue (Neb.) and 20th-ranked Central Methodist (Mo.) on Feb. 8-9 at Jim Wade Stadium. Action is set to begin 10 a.m. both days
• OCU opens conference play 4 p.m. March 6 at home against 17th-ranked Texas Wesleyan
• The SAC Tournament will be at Jim Wade Stadium on May 1-4. OCU owns 12 SAC Tournament titles
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Players Mentioned

Peyton Crispin

#4 Peyton Crispin

OF
6' 0"
Sophomore
L/L
Brandon Goldston

#20 Brandon Goldston

RHP
5' 11"
Junior
R/R
Jake Patterson

#17 Jake Patterson

LHP
6' 2"
Junior
L/L
Bryson Lierle

#34 Bryson Lierle

INF
6' 3"
Junior
R/R
Tyler Williams

#21 Tyler Williams

OF
6' 3"
Junior
R/R
Noah Barks

#11 Noah Barks

INF
5' 11"
Freshman
R/R
Cross Factor

#9 Cross Factor

OF
6' 0"
Junior
L/R
Jacob Wright

#36 Jacob Wright

LHP
6' 6"
Junior
L/L
Aaron McGeorge

#7 Aaron McGeorge

RHP
5' 11"
Senior
R/R
Dalton Reed

#15 Dalton Reed

INF
6' 5"
Senior
L/R
Gunner Halter

#2 Gunner Halter

INF
6' 3"
Senior
R/R
Tanner Sparks

#12 Tanner Sparks

INF/RHP
6' 0"
Sophomore
R/R

Players Mentioned

Peyton Crispin

#4 Peyton Crispin

6' 0"
Sophomore
L/L
OF
Brandon Goldston

#20 Brandon Goldston

5' 11"
Junior
R/R
RHP
Jake Patterson

#17 Jake Patterson

6' 2"
Junior
L/L
LHP
Bryson Lierle

#34 Bryson Lierle

6' 3"
Junior
R/R
INF
Tyler Williams

#21 Tyler Williams

6' 3"
Junior
R/R
OF
Noah Barks

#11 Noah Barks

5' 11"
Freshman
R/R
INF
Cross Factor

#9 Cross Factor

6' 0"
Junior
L/R
OF
Jacob Wright

#36 Jacob Wright

6' 6"
Junior
L/L
LHP
Aaron McGeorge

#7 Aaron McGeorge

5' 11"
Senior
R/R
RHP
Dalton Reed

#15 Dalton Reed

6' 5"
Senior
L/R
INF
Gunner Halter

#2 Gunner Halter

6' 3"
Senior
R/R
INF
Tanner Sparks

#12 Tanner Sparks

6' 0"
Sophomore
R/R
INF/RHP