Oran has adjusted on the fly

ORAN, Mo. -- Baseball is a lot of things: dramatic, strategic, fun.

Spontaneous usually doesn't rate high on the list, unless you play this year for the Oran Eagles, who, like many area teams, have been trying to co-exist with the elements this spring.

In an unusually wet season, Oran games are canceled by last-minute thunderstorms, but also spring up out of nowhere.

Coach Mitch Wood, also the school's athletic director, has spent much of his time on the phone -- and it hasn't been to the bullpen.

"I've spent too many hours on the phone trying to call people and trying to get games," Wood said. "With the rain and stuff you just bring your clothes every day and try to be ready to go."

His Eagles, 14-4 and the top seed in the Class 1A, District 2 Tournament which begins today, usually live on standby.

The Eagles play No. 8 Richland at 2 p.m. at Oran.

"I'm ready to play everyday," Oran first baseman Tyler Cookson said. "I live out of the back of my car, that's where I keep my jersey and stuff."

Cookson recounted a spur-of-the-moment game assembled a week earlier after a game with Leopold was canceled.

"It was about 2 o'clock and the coaches came and turned around and told us we were playing Notre Dame and to get our stuff," Cookson said.

The unscheduled encounter turned into a season highlight for Oran, a 6-4 victory over the Bulldogs.

But overall it's been a frustrating season for the Eagles, who feel they don't have enough games and too many losses. They've lost their only two tournaments to rain and hit a three-game skid -- losses to Chaffee, Dexter and Kelly -- after opening the season 9-1.

Nathan Seyer, a junior catcher who leads the Eagles with a .541 batting average, said he thought the team had the potential to go undefeated this year.

"We're trying hard, but things are not going right," Seyer said.

When it rains, it pours

The trials of the Eagles were on display last Tuesday. The Eagles were anticipating a potential district final preview with a home game against Bell City, the No. 2 seed in the district. After Wood spent considerable time rendering a wet field playable, the Cubs were forced to cancel when hail in Bell City prevented their departure.

With the storm soon to hit Oran, the Eagles settled for an indoor practice that quickly departed from the mundane. As Wood sat in the gymnasium, watching his players hit and throw while recounting the tribulations of a wet spring to the sound of thunder, the lights were extinguished by the storm and the players ushered into the lobby.

Just another obstacle for a talented Eagle team that just wants to play baseball.

"It's either this or go home, and I don't think we're going to get very good going home," Wood shrugged. "Work ethic is something we preach whether we win or lose."

Despite rain throughout the remainder of the week, the game-starved Eagles managed to post wins over Hayti, East Prairie and Portageville to take a five-game winning streak into today's game.

Talented juniors

Oran features just one senior starter in senior outfielder Matt Bucher (.340), who was a freshman when Oran placed third in the state in 1999. The Eagles reached the state championship the year before, part of a span of five district titles in six years.

St. Vincent ended Oran's season the last two years in the district on its way to a state championship and a state runner-up finish. It's left a talented junior class hungry at Oran.

"They've won a lot of ballgames, but they haven't won a district," Wood said.

In addition to Seyer, the junior class includes the likes of Cookson (.460), Joey Bickings (.393, 28 RBIs), Ryne Wood (.390), Trey Graviett (.400) and Tyler Nelson (.279). There's more talent in the sophomore ranks with Garrett Roslen (.419) and Matt Seyer (.273). The high averages add up to a .382 team average.

Graviett (5-3, 1.10 ERA) and Wood (4-1, 2.41) form more of a 1-2 punch than the Eagles would like. Bad weather has cut down on overall innings and kept others off the mound.

"I think the only thing that weather hurt us is the pitching," Ryne Wood said. "You don't get your rotation set in."

Despite past frustrations, the heart of the season lies ahead, where the success of the season will ultimately be determined.

"We should have a better record now, but it's all a learning experience and doesn't mean a thing till district," Cookson said.

"It's been disappointing with the four losses," Nathan Seyer said. "I was looking forward to possibly going undefeated. We're still capable of winning it all. Whether we do is another story."

And even if it's shining this week, coach Wood thinks bad weather could take its toll.

"I can tell you now there are going to be some upsets in this tournament," Wood said. "I'm not sure who they're going to be -- hopefully not us. There will be some upsets because not everyone has played enough baseball."

jbreer@semissourian.com

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