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Oglethorpe County's Eli Ossick swings and is about to hit the ball against Lake Oconee Academy on Feb. 29. (Photo/Owen Warden) -
Oglethorpe County's Austin Lowe celebrates scoring a run against Lake Oconee Academy on Feb. 29. (Photo/Owen Warden) -
Oglethorpe County's Jacob Sass prepares for an upcoming pitch against Lake Oconee Academy on Feb. 29. (Photo/Owen Warden)
The Patriots sit at 8-8 in Oglethorpe County baseball coach Mike Campbell’s first season. However, the real season starts on Monday, April 1, when OCHS begins region play with a doubleheader against Social Circle.
“It’s three different seasons, and we’re about to end the preseason,” Campbell said.
Campbell said the non-region schedule is built to prepare the Patriots for the region games, having scheduled tough opponents, like two-time defending Class AAAA state champion North Oconee.
With only four teams in Region 5-A Division I, each team will make the state playoffs. The region record, however, will determine the seed, marking the importance of the nine-game stretch.
“It’s more intense, it just doesn’t feel like a regular game,” junior pitcher/DH Eli Frost said.
The Patriots want to finish in the top half of the region and earn a home playoff series. They hosted a playoff series in 2022, but finished No. 3 in 2023 and had to travel in the first round.
Frost said home playoff games provide a “whole different environment.”
Region 5-A Division I, consisting of Prince Avenue Christian, Social Circle and Jasper County, will challenge the Patriots. However, Campbell said the team has made strides in playing more as a team.
“I think they’re starting to believe in each other a lot more than before,” he said.
Just as tough non-region opponents have, the nine-game region calendar will play a role in readying the Patriots for the postseason.
“I want them to understand the pressure of playoffs and how it affects the game, and be ready for it and handle it,” Campbell said.
On the field, the Patriots have a clear identity under Campbell. They thrive on getting on base to utilize their speed.
The Patriots have only 18 extra-base hits out of 117 hits, but have stolen 73 bases. Sophomore Mathew Martin leads them with 22 steals.
The numbers are impressive, but might not be the biggest factor for success moving forward.
“We don’t quit,” Campbell said. “A lot of young teams, when they get down, they’ll stop fighting, and that hasn’t happened.”