CHARGE! OKWU Eagles surge to 25 wins and eye more success on horizon
When Oklahoma Wesleyan University baseball fans think of the program’s glory run the past 15 seasons, they sometimes forget manager Kirk Kelley filled the catalyst’s role.
OKWU hired Kelley — from Lyon (Ark.) College — in 2009 to take charge of the Eagles’ 2010 baseball team.
Despite the daunting challenge of a program construction task that might have given even the great builder Noah a long pause, Kelley kept his confidence afloat.
That first season (2010) he guided the Eagles to a 25-31 mark — one of the most powerful showings in program history to that time.
More importantly, he built the launching pad.
The next season (2011), OKWU soared to a team record 39 wins and seized the national championship in the National Christian Collegiate Athletic Association.
But, Kelley departed OKWU after that season in order to pursue another coaching opportunity.
His hand-picked successor Matt Parker — who had been a former Kelley player at Lyon — built with amazing success on the foundation Kelley had left.
Parker won more than 300 games and made two NAIA World Series appearances in seven seasons (2012-18).
When Parker decided to move on elsewhere after the ’18 campaign, the Eagles surprised everyone with his replacement — the return of Kelley.
It was kind of like pinch-hitting Lou Gehrig for Babe Ruth, putting in Larry Bird to shoot free throws for Michael Jordan, or replacing Joe Montana with Steve Young.
Since Kelley resumed his coaching pursuits at OKWU, the baseball squad has accumulated 235 wins and a NAIA World Series berth.
This year’s team is off to meteoric flight.
Through 32 games, the Eagles own a 25-7 record and climbed has high as No. 11 in the national rankings.
They’ve done all that despite a good deal of adversity and rebuilding.
Offensively, the Eagles have proven to be a power in all types of water. OKWU started off the season with a storm of homers, but has matured since into a gap-creasing, basepath-pounding, character-hustling attack.
In the first few games, OKWU appeared to be on pace to hit 150 homers, but that ratio has dropped considerably. The current team number is 45, with Drenis Ozuna, Jordyn Smith and Josh Logan leading with seven apiece.
“Our offense has been pretty consistent the whole year,” Kelley said in focusing on one of the keys. “We have played some games with the wind blowing straight in, which has forced us to play better in our short game.”
Smith (.417 avg., 9 2b’s, 2 3B’s, 34 RBI’s, 44 R’s, 20 BB’s) is the latest in a long string of those dominant type of offensive dynamos that Kelley’s teams seem to produce.
In addition, “Jesus Rojas (.393 avg., 8 2B’s, 5 HR’s, 37 RBI’s), Ozuna (.408 avg., 9 2B’s, 1 3B, 35 RBI’s) and Tommy Davis (.378 avg., 6 2Bs, 4 HR’s, 21 RBI’s) all have had a great start,” Kelley said. “
Defensively, catcher Nicholas Chavez, Hector Manon and Gerdes “have been excellent up the middle,” Kelley said.
But, the pitching staff absorbed a major haymaker with the loss of unquestioned staff leader Kellen Brothers.
Stampeding along with an unbeaten record, Brothers’ season came to an end recently due to an elbow ailment.
“He will be able to come back next year, though,” Kelley said. “Kellen is one of the better pitchers in the nation.”
When it comes to putting on a good show this season, the right-hander has been the original Smother Brothers — 8 starts, 6-0 record, 49.1 IP, 10 BB, 53 K’s, 0.91 earned run average.
When Brothers was healthy, he would fill the role as the starter in the opener of a Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference weekend series. Evan Foor and Michael Mendoza have each started the other weekend games.
The sophomore Foor is 7-1 in 43.2 innings, with a 2.47 ERA, 45 K’s and 14 BB’s.
Mendoza is 7-2 in 45.1 innings, with a 4.57 ERA, 49 K’s and 15 BB’s.
Matthew Atencio has been OKWU’s fourth starter (3-1, 31.2 innings, 2.84 ERA, 22 K’s, 8 BB’s) and Carson Frazier has two starts and a win under his belt.
With Brothers now unavailable, Kelley has to move a new starting pitcher into the weekend rotation.
He appreciates how his starters have performed this season.
“They have given us a chance to win every time out,” Kelley said. “I feel they are getting stronger each week. I think the next piece of the puzzle for us is to continue to develop our bullpen.”
The Eagles journey so far consists of long, straight stretches of excellence, interspersed with some short, choppy stretches.
But, with a strong showing this weekend on the road against Bethany (Kan.), OKWU could gain enough momentum and experience to maintain the high road and cruise into the NAIA regionals.
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KELLEY OKWU BASEBALL ERA
(Conference record in parentheses)
2009-10: 25-31 (12-8)
2010-11: 39-28 (10-10)
2018-19: 45-11 (28-5)
2019-20: 14-14 (3-5)
2020-21: 49-11 (29-4)
2021-22: 38-19 (20-14)
2022-23: 25-7 (11-4)
Totals: 235-121 (113-50)
This article originally appeared on Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise: Oklahoma Wesleyan baseball thrives in Kelley Era
