Baseball Is Back At ONEOK Field With Summer College Baseball

The boys are back on the field with the Texas Collegiate League summer baseball.

Starting next Tuesday, the collegiate version of the Tulsa Drillers will play a 30-game season in 34 days. Players said it was day they both have been waiting for.

Oklahoma State outfielder Cade Cabbiness said, "you know, I was all for it. I’ve been stuck at home the past couple of months, it’s awesome."

Ryan Cash, a middle infielder for ORU said, "all you want to do is play and play every day and being out here is a blessing."

Drillers Manager and former OSU head coach Tom Holiday understands that keeping players healthy will be his top priority. So far 2 have tested positive for COVID-19."I want to occupy them and yet I want to put enough conditioning and training in that we don't get them hurt. It is challenging and it’s a first time in my life that I have ever had to deal with it,” he said.

In 40 years of coaching college baseball, Holliday has seen it all on the diamond. He also is excited for his pitchers, as he has high expectations for them this summer.

Holliday said, "how long is it going to take for an offense to catch up with no at-bats since March? I think pitching should dominate early. We probably have right now 15 guys that are going to throw the ball between 92-and 95 and we have a really high number of velocity arms."

With everything going on in our country, Holliday is glad to have baseball back and so are the players.

Holliday said, "they all felt like they should have been drafted in the first 5 rounds, that’s a good motivator and I like that."

Opening night for the collegiate version of the Drillers is Tuesday, June 30 against the Frisco Roughriders.