SUMMER BALL AROUND CORNER: Baseball tryouts set for Saturday at Rigdon Field
Bartlesville summer baseball could have a different look this summer — at least for the Doenges Ford Indians.
Head coach John Pannell said last weekend he plans to add a few Oklahoma Wesleyan University players to the roster and to add a new dimension to the program. The roster tentatively also will include some graduated high school players and some high school juniors.
“We’re playing in the new Oklahoma Collegiate League,” he said.
Some of other teams will include Oral Roberts and Rogers State.
Bartlesville will be one of the host sites for the league and also will host the championship in late July, he said.
As far as the younger players, the Indians have added a team — the 15-and-under Safari Smiles squad. The 17-and-under United Linen Braves also will be back.
Tryouts for all the teams are planned for this Saturday at Rigdon Field in Bill Doenges Memorial Stadium.
The signups for those trying out for the Braves and Safari squads are set to start at 8 a.m., with tryouts to begin at 9 a.m.
The signups for the Indians is slated for 1 p.m. and tryouts following at 2 p.m.
All interested athletes are welcome to try out, Pannell said.
One of the key returnees he plans to be back is Jakob Hall, who is finishing up a productive freshman season at Oral Roberts.
Pannell eyes a schedule of several familiar foes, interspersed around college league games on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.
"We’re just trying to play better competition, Pannell said.
The 63rd Annual Glen Winget Tournament will include an eight-team field this season, he added.
All three Bartlesville teams are slated to rev up at a Memorial Day weekend festival at Doenges Stadium.
“I’m ready to get things started,” he said. “I’m pretty anxious bout the college league. We won’t start it until June. There will be an All-Star game in Bricktown.”
This will be the 87th consecutive season of summer baseball in Bartlesville. It’s been primarily an American Legion program, but Pannell said that as of last week Bartlesville was the only registered Legion team in the state.
This article originally appeared on Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise: Bartlesville baseball program could have a different look this summer
