Cole, Scales Make 1st Team
May 2, 2007
RICHARDSON, Texas – The two Southwestern Oklahoma State University baseball players most responsible for the Bulldogs’ late-season surge were selected to the first-team Lone Star Conference North Division squad. Outfielder Mark Cole and shortstop Lance Scales were each among the 17-person first-team squad that recognized the top players in the six-team division.
Cole, a senior from Perry, raised his batting average more than 200 points in a season that saw him battle through a woeful start to become one of the league’s most feared hitters. He ended the season batting .375 in the 24 division games and helped the team to a second-place finish in the North and a 16-8 record.
Scales, a sophomore from Lookeba-Sickles, has been among the team’s leading hitters all season and is carrying a .345 average. He leads the team with 38 RBI’s and ranks fifth in the LSC with 16 stolen bases.
Central Oklahoma, the LSC North champ, had the most players of any school on the first team with six. The Bronchos had the player-of-the-year in catcher Breck Draper and the pitcher-of-the-year in Dean McIntyre.
Four other SWOSU players were chosen to the LSC North second team. They were pitcher Ty Pool, catcher Dakota Streber, outfielder Sean Rogers and designated hitter Moose Wathen.
Pool, a sophomore right-hander from Clinton, has 18 appearances including 11 starts on the mound. He is 5-7 with a 7.40 ERA. He has pitched 65.2 innings and struck out 34 batters while walking just 24.
Streber, a junior from Shawnee, has been one of the hottest hitters in the league last month. He tied a school record for collecting five hits in a 20-12 win against Cameron and was named the LSC North Player-of-the-Week. He leads the team in hitting with a .346 average, and has been even better in conference play with a sizzling .469 average.
Rogers, a senior from Arizona City, Ariz., has played in 51 of the team’s 52 games. He is hitting .290 with three home runs and 29 RBI’s. He became one of only a handful of players to hit two triples in the same game, a feat he has done twice this season.
Wathen, a sophomore from Altus, took over the designated hitter’s role early in the season and provided the Bulldogs with a reliable leadoff. He is batting .333 and leads the team with a .449 on base-percentage.
Three other SWOSU players made honorable mention all-conference. They were sophomore first baseman Blain Perkins, senior second baseman Tristan Cummings and junior third baseman Ryan Starzenski.