ROCHESTER, Mich. – The Oakland baseball team opens the 2021 season at Middle Tennessee State with a single game on Monday, Feb. 22 at 4 p.m. ET followed by a double header on Tuesday, Feb. 23 beginning at 2 p.m. ET. The Golden Grizzlies and the Blue Raiders were originally scheduled to play a four-game series starting on Friday through Sunday but continued inclement weather conditions in the area forced the games to be pushed back. The games will be broadcast live from Reese Smith Jr. on C-USA TV for paid subscriptions only.
Notes:
Oakland Projected Starters:
Game 1: #27 LHP
Travis Densmore
Game 2-3 DH: TBD
Middle Tennessee State Projected Starters:
Game 1: #20 RHP Aaron Brown
Game 2-3 DH: TBD
- Oakland only played 12 games with a 2-10 record during the 2020 season before it was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
- The Golden Grizzlies are under the direction of first-year Head Coach
Jordon Banfield who came to Oakland from Akron. At 34 years, 170 days old, Banfield is the 16th youngest Division I head coach in the country. His staff consists of Assistant Pitching Coach,
Dan McKinney, Assistant Coach
Brian Nelson, Volunteer Assistant Coach
Cooper Goen and Student Assistant
Ethan Kulich.
- Oakland was picked to finish sixth in the 2021 Horizon League Baseball Preseason Poll announced by the league office on Wednesday and voted on by the league's seven head coaches. The Golden Grizzlies received 14 overall points.
- Sophomore newcomer and opening day starter
Travis Densmore comes to Oakland all the way from Mesa, Arizona where 6'-1" left-hander spent last year at Gateway Community College where he made eight appearances posting 17 strikeouts in 31.1 innings of work.
- The Golden Grizzlies return the top four hitters from the 2020 shortened season. Senior
Michael Stygles started all 12 games leading the team in hitting (.395), hits (15), RBI (8), with four runs, two doubles, a home run and six walks. Against Cincinnati, Stygles hit .455 going 5-for-11 with a home run, two runs scored, four walks and eight total bases with a .727 slugging percentage. In the series finale, he hit 3-for-3 and posted his first career home run.
- Senior
Cam Post started in eight of 11 games ranking second on the team hitting .364 with 12 hits, two RBI, three runs, two doubles and five walks. Post recorded a hit in the first six games of the season and delivered the game-winning RBI single at Akron in the top of the sixth inning in game two which was shortened due to darkness.
- Redshirt senior
Blake Griffith also returns after starting in all 12 games last season finishing third on the team at the plate hitting .310 with 13 hits, six runs and team-best eight RBI, two home runs and two doubles. He hit his first home run of the season at No. 8 Auburn
and posted a .600 average going 3-for-5 with two doubles, a run and five total bases with a 1.714 OPS and 1.000 slugging percentage in Oakland's two wins at Akron.
- During the 2019 season, Griffith played in 46 games with 42 starts at first base and designated hitter. He tied for the team lead in home runs (6), ranked second in RBI (31), slugging percentage (.457) and total bases (74), third in hits (46) and batting ave. (.284) and fifth in doubles (8).
- Redshirt senior
Tyler Trovinger returned during the 2020 season starting all 12 games after missing the 2019 due to injury. Trovinger hit .263 with 10 hits, three RBI, five runs, one double and a team season-best 11 walks. In 2018, Trovinger started in all 46 games leading the team in home runs (5), ranking second in doubles (8) and RBI (28), with a triple and 22 runs while also finishing fifth in batting (.259).
- Senior Captain
Dan Rutan returns on the mound after making four appearances with seven strikeouts last season. Rutan picked up the loss in his first career start with two strikeouts while allowing only two earned runs at No. 8 Auburn.
- Sophomore
Matthew Nolin returns after making four appearances with two starts recording a team second-best 13 strikeouts in 10.1 innings pitched. Nolin went 3.0 innings allowing only one hit with a team-high five strikeouts in relief at No. 8 Auburn.
- Senior relief pitcher
Justyn Schoening also returns after making four appearances last season with four strikeouts in only 3.0 innings of work.
- Overall, Oakland has plenty of leadership with 11 seniors and two graduate students on the roster. The roster also includes 12 junior college transfers, six sophomores and seven freshmen.
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