OKLAHOMA CITY – Oklahoma City University ended the 2021 baseball season building towards a return trip to the NAIA World Series.
The Stars ended their postseason run playing Keiser (Fla.) with a World Series berth on the line. OCU upended ninth-ranked host Loyola (La.) to get to the title bout of the NAIA Championship Opening Round New Orleans Bracket.
Oklahoma City completed the year 36-19 and ranked in the top five nationally in slugging percentage, home runs per contest and doubles per game.
Denney Crabaugh rates third all-time and No. 1 among active coaches in wins within the NAIA. Crabaugh has directed OCU to a 1,552-487-2 mark and the 2005 national championship in his career. Oklahoma City stands as the top team in college baseball in victories since 1991 with 1,486. OCU has sent 164 players to the professional ranks, 77 via the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft.
"Our team had a never-quit-or-give-up attitude," Crabaugh said of the Stars' postseason run. "Our pitching performed really well."
OCU opens the season 2 p.m. Tuesday against Tabor (Kan.) at Jim Wade Stadium. Andrew Shepard will have the call. Stars' home games will be broadcast via live audio and video on the BlueFrame OCU Sports Network. Tickets are available via OCU's HomeTown Ticketing platform. Visitors to Jim Wade Stadium will be asked to social distance from those outside their group and wear their masks until they arrive at their seats.
TOP RETURNERS
• Cross Factor snared all-Sooner Athletic Conference acclaim in 2021. Factor, a senior outfielder from Yukon, Okla., posted a .346 batting average, nine home runs, 56 RBIs and 12 stolen bases last season. The second-team all-conference selection nailed 21 doubles and three triples. Factor pounded four hits in a game three times, smacked two homers against Central Christian (Kan.) on April 2 and knocked in seven runs vs. Mount Mercy (Iowa) on Feb. 26. In two years at OCU, Factor has put up a .351 average, 25 doubles, six triples, 21 homers, 102 RBIs and 20 thefts
• Tanner Schoeninger hauled in second-team all-conference honors last year. Schoeninger, a senior right-handed pitcher, put together a 7-3 record and 1.91 earned run average in 2021. Schoeninger struck out 65 in 66 innings with three complete games, including a nine-inning shutout of Ottawa (Kan.) on May 19 in the NAIA Championship Opening Round. His career numbers are a 10-3 mark, 2.88 ERA and 96 strikeouts in 93.2 innings pitched
• Noah Barks became an all-SAC performer as a freshman. Barks, a senior infielder from Mustang, Okla., supplied the Stars with a .311 average, 13 doubles, two triples, three homers, 29 RBIs and 10 steals last season. Barks has produced a career .334 average, 35 doubles, four triples, 64 RBIs and 21 stolen bases in three years at OCU
• Tyler Polk topped Oklahoma City with five saves last year. Polk, a sophomore righty from Duncan, Okla., delivered a 3-2 record, 3.47 ERA and 43 strikeouts in 46.2 innings. Polk delivered a nine-inning complete-game effort against Wayland Baptist (Texas) on May 9 to send the Stars into the SAC Tournament championship game. Polk's outing came on the heels of Jacob Wright's nine-inning complete-game performance vs. Wayland Baptist
NEW FACES
• Felix Chenier-Rondeau played a key role in Cowley (Kan.) making the NJCAA World Series last season. Rondeau, a sophomore from Blainville, Quebec, Canada, topped Cowley with a .423 average and 52 RBIs while swiping 22 bases in 2021
• Eli Davis came to the Stars after pitching three years for Kansas. Davis, a junior left-hander from Shawnee, Okla., recorded the first no-hitter by a Jayhawk at Hoglund Ballpark in seven innings against Kansas State on May 14. He went 13-11 with 125 strikeouts in 155 innings with Kansas. Davis played on two state championship teams with current OCU teammate Tanner Sparks at Shawnee, becoming an all-stater and Oklahoman big all-city player of the year
• Jesse Fonteboa arrived in Oklahoma City from Texas Rio Grande Valley, where he had back-to-back three-RBI performances late last year. Fonteboa, a junior from Las Vegas, hit .293 in 2020 at Golden West (Calif.)
• Darian Luper contributed to Texas Rio Grande Valley both as a hitter and a pitcher the past two years. Luper, a senior right-hander from Ada, Okla., had a 2.25 ERA and eight RBIs in his career there. Luper boasted of a .331 average with five homers and 69 RBIs as well as a 3-0 record, 3.50 ERA and two saves in two years at Connors State
MEET THE COACH
• Denney Crabaugh has guided Oklahoma City to 14 NAIA World Series appearances, 14 50-win seasons and four trips to the national title game in 33 years
• Crabaugh has coached 89 all-Americans, 164 future pros, 83 NAIA scholar-athletes, 19 CoSIDA academic all-Americans and seven national players of the year
• Brad Wieck, currently with 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 junior 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 YOUR CALENDAR
• Four teams listed among the preseason top 25 make their way to Oklahoma City. The Stars have scheduled a series against ninth-ranked Oklahoma Wesleyan and No. 24 Bellevue (Neb.) on Feb. 11-13 at Jim Wade Stadium. No. 22 MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) is set to visit OCU on Feb. 18-19
• OCU enters SAC play against Wayland Baptist (Texas) on March 4 at home
• The Stars take on 15th-ranked Science & Arts on March 17-19. Science & Arts enters 2022 as the preseason favorite to win the league
• The SAC Tournament returns to Jim Wade Stadium on May 6-9. Oklahoma City has taken 12 SAC Tournament championships
