OKLAHOMA CITY (Feb. 3, 2022) – Two numbers told the story of Oklahoma Christian's 2021 baseball season: 8.9 and 7.51.

The first, the number of runs the Eagles averaged per game, ranked them among the top 15 teams in NCAA Division II in scoring. The latter, the pitching staff's season ERA, showed the Eagles often squandered leads built by the strong offense. Both numbers were evident in OC's 24-16 record – good, but not what it could have been.

As the Eagles prepare for the 2022 season – which will begin Saturday at St. Mary's (Texas) – the good news is their offense returns pretty much intact, with the top nine hitters (including three All-Region players) still on the roster. Even better news is the team's pitching staff has been revamped and reinforced. That combination has hopes for OC baseball as high as they've been in a decade.

OC will begin the season at No. 7 in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association's South Central Region ranking. Six teams will qualify for the regional tournament at season's end, meaning plenty of folks outside the program also think the Eagles will be in the mix for what would be their first NCAA postseason appearance. Coach Lonny Cobble doesn't disagree.

"There are going to be a lot of guys with different roles this year," Cobble said. "Guys are going to have to accept those roles for the good of the team. We need guys putting the team first. If we do that, we could be in line to have a pretty good ball club. There is lots of good competition going on. It's probably been the most competitive fall we've had since I've been here. A lot of guys want to play."

The Eagles' lineup isn't necessarily the 1976 Cincinnati Reds or the 1927 New York Yankees, but OC does have an impressive group, so deep that Cobble will have the luxury of mixing and matching hitters, depending on the opponent's pitching.

But there figure to be a few mainstays. Sophomore first baseman Michael DiFiore was the Lone Star Conference's top slugger last season, slamming 19 home runs to go with 58 RBIs and a .348 batting average. Designated hitter/catcher Chance Westervelt led the LSC in hitting at .440 and added seven homers and 35 RBIs. Outfielder Blake Empkey hit .359 with 12 homers and 53 RBIs. All three earned All-South Central Region honors.

Catcher Coleton Hinkle (.354, seven homers, 36 RBIs) and outfielder Tanner White (.290, eight HRs, 36 RBIs) should provide even more pop. One amazing statistic – the Eagles will return 68 of the 70 home runs from last season's potent lineup. All nine everyday starters last season hit at least three homers, including infielders Kevin Collyar (.269, four homers, 19 RBIs), Grant Lake (.268, four homers, 23 RBIs) and Jaren Hill (.262, three homers, 25 RBIs) and outfielder Cole Lee (.279, three homers, 19 RBIs).

OC also added to its offensive riches during the offseason. Infielder Preston King, a transfer from Hill (Texas), hit .278 with nine homers and 28 RBIs last season and senior infielder Matthew Conerly is an intriguing prospect who will return to college baseball after a two-year absence.

The Eagles will have plenty of other options off the bench, too, in sophomore infielders Connor Jackson and Michael Ferraro, and outfielders Jayvien Joseph (who returns after a one-season absence after hitting .352 in 2020), Ryan Walden and newcomer Aaron Hunter.

Behind the plate, in addition to Hinkle and Westervelt, the Eagles have a third strong option in Austin King, who (like his brother Preston) has Division I experience, having started his career at Texas-Rio Grande Valley before moving to Hill. Junior Brendon Bavester, in his fourth season at OC, also can provide a veteran presence at the position.

"We've got good problems," Cobble said. "We've asked the boys to make it hard on us (to make lineup decisions) and they have. Once those decisions are made, we need to get the oars out and all start rowing in the right direction."

On the mound, the Eagles only return one full-time starter, senior left-hander Julien Ly (2-2, 5.94 ERA) – who will focus only on pitching in his final season at OC – and one part-time starter in senior right-hander Jacob Mattox (2-1, 8.69 ERA). With the LSC moving back to four-game series for 2022, that leaves plenty of room for competition for rotation spots.

Entering the season, two of the starting spots will go to a pair of right-handed transfers, Isaiah Alvarenga and Andrew Alonzo. Alvarenga comes to OC from East Texas Baptist, where he went 9-3 with a 2.08 ERA last season and was named as the American Baseball Coaches Association's Division III co-West Region pitcher of the year. Alonzo went 5-1 with a 2.66 ERA last season for Clarendon (Texas).

Ly figures to hold down another rotation spot and Cobble said coaches still are searching for a fourth starter and that that spot could rotate as the season progresses.

The bullpen also has been restocked. There are a few returnees from 2021, including Mattox, senior left-handers Chase Berberich, Bob Britton and Lee (when he's not in center field), juniors Ty Dudley, Ryan Hill, Cody Johnson, Kaden Kirby and Empkey (when he isn't playing in right field) and sophomore Hayden Boyd (who sat out last season due to injury). Of that group, Mattox, Lee, Dudley, Hill and Berberich all started at least one game in 2021.

Of the right-handed newcomers, junior Sam Webb transferred from a strong Division II program at Oklahoma Baptist. Jayden Saylor and Chris Huerta came to OC from Bossier Parish (La.) while Matthew Shira – who throws submarine-style – transferred from another junior college, Ranger (Texas), and Kyle Higgins played last season at Richland (Texas). Will Rodman is the lone freshman in the group and is in the mix as a potential starter.

Lefty Jayce Meyer saw action last season for another Division II program, Fort Hays State (Kan.), and was one of the Sunflower State's top prep pitching prospects in 2020.

"We're excited about this group," Cobble said. "We're going to have some help in the bullpen. The pitching staff is much improved. They have to go out and do it in a real game, but from all the markers this fall, it seems like there's been a huge improvement."

All but two of the Eagles' 50 scheduled games will be LSC contests and OC has a frontloaded slate, with four of its first five series against teams picked to finish in the top seven of the 13-team league. That said, Cobble likes where his team is at entering the season.

"Of course, everything depends on guys staying healthy and doing what they're supposed to do," Cobble said. "We won 24 games last year and didn't have great pitching. But I think this year we've added some pieces that are going to definitely help us. If we can just give the offense some help and play good defense … we have potential. We're excited for the year. The boys are excited. But we really haven't done anything yet."