Oran makes statement in large schools event

~ The Eagles won three of their four games in the Midwest Classic.

The Oran baseball team played in St. Charles this weekend with a purpose.

The Eagles wanted to show that a small Class 1 school in Southeast Missouri could compete with the big boys from St. Louis and Kansas City.

Consider the trip a success. Oran won its first three games in the 12-team Midwest Classic, following Friday's two wins with a 12-2 trouncing of Truman on Saturday in a game which was shortened to six innings because of the 10-run rule.

Oran lost Saturday's second game to Francis Howell North, 18-3 in six innings.

"A Class 1A school winning three in a row over Class 4A teams -- that is making a statement," Oran junior Chase Seyer said.

Seyer had the biggest of many blows in the game for Oran with a three-run homer to cap a five-run fourth inning. It was the second five-run inning of the game for the Eagles.

"I think the big school/small school thing cam be overrated," Oran manager Mitch Wood said. "Everybody puts on their pants the same way. If you play good defense and get good pitching, you can be successful against anybody."

Oran (11-2) did that throughout the tournament and had the added bonus of timely hitting. It scored at least nine runs in each of the first three games of the round-robin tournament.

"We pride ourselves in pitching and defense, but we also like to swing the bat," Wood said. "We were able to do all of those things in the tournament."

The added bonus in the Truman win was a complete game by pitcher Paul Bucher, who was starting for the first time this season. Bucher had problems with ulcers and lost 18 pounds. He was not the same kind of pitcher as seen last year but was still successful.

"Coach told me at the hotel last night that I was going to pitch today," Bucher said. "I threw in the pen and seemed to be throwing 50 miles per hour. My arm was feeling like jelly but I just tried to mix things up and keep the hitters off balance."

It didn't hurt that his teammates scored five times in the first inning. Caleb Seyer, Kody Campbell, Austin Dumey and Tyler Beardslee all hit hits in the inning. Joey Williams had the big hit, a two-run triple.

The Eagles' bats were silenced for a couple of innings, as Truman starter Mike Kline struck out seven in a three-inning span. But Oran put the game away with five runs -- all scored with two outs -- in the fourth inning. Ninth-place hitter Chris Asmus got things started with a single. Caleb Seyer walked, and Campbell followed with an RBI single. Dumey greeted relief pitcher Trevor Brown with an RBI single, and Chase Seyer put an exclamation point on the inning with a homer to right on a full-count pitch.

"I had been struggling early in the game at the plate," Chase Seyer said. "I was just trying to swing hard and make good contact. I didn't know it was gone."

Oran added single runs in the fifth and sixth innings.

The Eagles had beaten Riverview Gardens and St. Charles West in their first two games at the tournament on Friday.

"I think this shows that small schools can compete with the big schools," Bucher said. "The size of the school doesn't matter. It comes down to talent."

Wood was pleased with his first trip to the 12-team tourney in St. Charles.

"We respect everybody we play, but we also don't fear anybody," Wood said. "We like to go play anywhere we can. We feel we are capable of competing with every team. This should be a good confidence builder for us. I was thrilled to death with Paul on the mound today. He usually throws it at least 10 miles per hour faster than he did today. But he got the job done. He is quite a competitor."

ORAN 12, TRUMAN 2

Truman 101 000 -- 2 5 4

Oran 500 511 -- 12 10 0

WP -- Paul Bucher, 1-0; LP -- Kline. 2B -- Guetzko (T), Driscoll (T); 3B -- Booth (T), Joey Williams (O); HR -- Chase Seyer (O). Multiple hits -- Oran, Austin Dumey 3-4, Kody Campbell 2-4. Records -- Truman 6-6, Oran 11-1.

FRANCIS HOWELL NORTH 18, ORAN 3

Howell North 534 006 -- 18 18 1

Oran 010 200 -- 3 4 8

WP -- Wort. LP -- Chase Seyer, 0-1. HR -- Lamsyk (F). 3B -- Rome (F), Austin Dumey (0). 2B -- Woodson (F), Caleb Seyer (O), Alex Chasteen (O). Multiple hits -- Howell North, Barnhart 3-5, Woodson 3-5, Lamsyk 4-5, Meyer 2-5, Rome 2-4. Records -- Howell North 7-4, Oran 11-2.