"This is playoff baseball, we want to win:' 6th-ranked Oklahoma Wesleyan Baseball Prepares for run to NAIA World Series

It's been quite a successful year so far for the Oklahoma Wesleyan athletic department. The Eagles have claimed 5 conference titles across various sports so far this year. Now the 6th-ranked baseball team looks to keep that success going, as they look to punch their ticket to the NAIA World Series in Idaho.

"Vibes are on 10, vibes are on a 10 right now," says senior pitcher Evan Foor.

With the '60s and '70s soul music blaring from the portable speaker, the Eagles held their final practice in Bartlesville on Monday, before heading to Joplin for the KCAC Conference Tournament. The easy-going, fun vibe is the theme of the practice...the same theme that led to a 43-7 regular season record.

"They enjoy playing, and they have tremendous passion, and they love each other. So that makes it fun," says head coach Kirk Kelley. "Makes it fun to come to practice every day. They love to practice, and I think that rubs off."

"You come out here, and we have fun. And I think that's a big thing. Everyone wants to have fun," adds Foor. "Everybody wants to be out here. And when you're around people, a group of guys that are in for the same goal you're in, it motivates you more and pushes you more."

Thanks to that fun-loving mentality, the Eagles finished with a 30-6 conference record, the number one seed in the KCAC Tournament, a share of the regular season title, and most importantly, a berth in the national tournament. No team has won both the regular season and conference tournament crowns since 2019, when Oklahoma Wesleyan did it. And this year's squad is headed to Joplin to do it again.

"We want to win. We don't want to go over there just to go to conference games, this is playoff baseball. We want to win," says Foor.

The Eagles have been in playoff mode the last 4 weeks, winning 12 of their last 14 games. The quest for an NAIA World Series appearance starts this week in Missouri. But for the seniors on this team, nothing would beat punching a ticket to Idaho for the fourth time in program history.

"The standard here is to win the league, and win the tournament, and make it to the World Series. That's the standard here," says Foor. "Anything short of that obviously is not a failure, but we want to make the World Series."

And the coaching staff feels the pieces are in place to make a special run.

"We definitely feel good about them. You don't want to sit here and say hey, but we feel good about them if we can stay in the moment, that's going to be the key," says Kelley.