Four Named To Southland Preseason Teams; ORU Picked Third

Four Oral Roberts baseball players have made a preseason impression on their new conference coaches as the Southland Conference released the official Preseason All-Conference nods on Wednesday.

Already picking up Preseason All-American mentions from various publications, Jose Trevino was named as a catcher and Drew Bowen as a pitcher on the Preseason All-Southland First Team. On the second team is pitcher Alex Gonzalez and outfielder Logan Domenico.

Also released on Wednesday were the preseason coaches and sports information directors polls. In each, the Golden Eagles are slated to finish in third, with Sam Houston State and Southeastern Louisiana picked one and two, respectively. ORU received three first place votes in the SID poll.

The Bearkats of Sam Houston won the league a year ago.

Bowen, a right hander from Tulsa, finished the 2012 season with a 7-2 record. He had an outstanding .195 earned run average in 87.2 innings on the mound, striking out 68 batters and allowed just 21 free passes to opposing batters.

A native of Corpus Christi, Texas, Trevino led the Golden Eagles in five offensive categories, including average (.317), hits (78), runs batted in (57), doubles (18) and triples (3). The sophomore also tied with former first baseman Jared Schlehuber with a team high 13 home runs.

Joining Bowen on the mound in the weekend rotation is the junior Gonzalez. Last season, Gonzalez was 6-3 on the season, striking 66 batters and had an 2.30 ERA in 86 innings on the mound. Opposing hitters only hit a .205 average against the Florida native, the lowest average by the opposition on the Golden Eagle staff.

Domenico, a sophomore from Scottsdale, Arizona, had a very solid freshman campaign in 2012, starting 39 of 40 games played with the Golden Eagles. He was one of the most consistent hitters, recording an average of .312, four on the team.

The Golden Eagles begin the season with a tough home series as Saint Louis comes to town for a three game set. First pitch of the season is scheduled for 3 p.m. on Feb. 15.