Ocelots Earn 8-2 Record in Florida
ORLANDO, FL – The 2024 Ocelots baseball team took their spring break trip to the Sunshine State. With 10 games on the slate in just 5 days, the schedule was busy for Schoolcraft.
Things would get off on the right foot for the Ocelots. Schoolcraft would start the opening half of their trip by going a perfect 5-0. 2 of those wins would come against a Region XII opponent in Bryant and Stratton (OH) and another 2 would come against a team receiving votes in the preseason NJCAA D3 poll in Alexandria Technical and Community College. Out of those 5 wins, 2 of them would come in the walk off fashion in extra innings. The Ocelots would knock off Alexandria with a walk off single in the 8th inning by freshman Dominic Westfall, who was pinch hitting. The 2nd walk off would come against Penn State Fayette in a game where Schoolcraft scored 2 runs with 2 outs in the bottom of the 7th to get the game into extras. The walk off single would come off the bat of Bryan Tuttle who was also responsible for knocking in the game tying run.
The 2 losses on the trip would come in back-to-back games. Schoolcraft would drop the 2nd of the doubleheader against Penn State Fayette by a score of 7-4 before losing 16-0 to Niagara Community College the next morning. However, the Ocelots would be able to bounce back. Following the loss to Niagara, Schoolcraft would come back to defeat the Thunderwolves by a score of 8-7 in extra innings. Leading the Ocelots' push to beat Niagara was Michael Moore who went 4 innings while not allowing a hit or a run. Going into the doubleheader, Niagara was ranked as the #4 team in the NJCAA D3 poll.
The last day of the trip saw Schoolcraft walk off Minnesota North College – Vermilion on a single by Owen Elsey. The Elsey single would give the Ocelots a 10-9 win in a game which they would have 9 hits and steal 6 bases. The final game of their trip would see another ranked opponent. Erie Community College came in ranked as the #15 team in the preseason NJCAA D3 poll. Philip Miller would deal on the mound going 7 innings, allowing 1 run with 7 strikeouts. Behind the start from Miller, Schoolcraft would close the trip with a 6-1 win.
The 8-2 record the Ocelots accumulated in Florida would be the best record the program has seen in a spring break trip. Schoolcraft returns to the field on Tuesday, March 12, as they load the bus again and head to Piqua, Ohio to face off against Edison State Community College.