Oakton baseball aims to “fly high” in 2020

After making two consecutive National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division III World Series appearances, the Oakton Community College baseball team is ready to “fly high” in 2020.

Head coach Bill Fratto enters his 15th season, boasting a career mark of 510-277 (a .648 winning percentage). He wants to take the Owls back to the top perch.

“Last year we finished fifth at the World Series, but this year our goal is to win the national championship like we did in 2018,” he says.

The NJCAA agrees that the Owls can go far this year. In the NJCAA Division III baseball preseason poll released on Feb. 24, Oakton is the No. 4 ranked team in the country.

The Owls return 10 players from last year highlighted by infielder Zach Rabe (Des Plaines, Cochrane High School) and southpaw pitcher Joe Gabel (Park Ridge, Maine South High School). Rabe will once again be expected to contribute offensively as his .387 batting average last season was third best for the Owls. On the mound, Gabel will be called on to be steady like last season when he was second on the pitching staff in both strikeouts (70) and innings pitched (53 1/3).

With a major influx of new talent, Fratto is confident the Owls are still a force to be reckoned with. “I truly believe we have the workhorses to win it all. This year we are deeper in pitching and have the most talent we’ve had on the mound in years,” he said.

One of those key contributors Fratto expects big things out of is Matt Johnston, who transferred from the University of Illinois Springfield. While at Maine West High School, Johnston helped his team win back-to-back regional championships in 2017 and 2018.

“Matt is definitely a pro prospect as he can throw the ball over 90 miles per hour,” Fratto says.

Offensively, freshman outfielder Brandon Matias (Glenview, Glenbrook South High School) will cause havoc for opposing pitchers. As a senior for the Titans, Matias was named to the Illinois High School Baseball Coaches Association 2019 4A All-State Team as he compiled a .450 batting average, 6 home runs, 25 RBI and 23 runs scored in 26 games played.

“Brandon is definitely going to be one of the guys as he is a solid player with power,” Fratto says.

Other impact newcomers, according to Fratto, include infielder Christian Seegers (Schaumburg, Conant High School), outfielder Jalen Avery (Oswego, Oswego East High School) pitcher Ashton Schwab (Glenview, Maine East High School) and infielder/outfielder C.J. Deshazer, a transfer from Heartland Community College.

The Owls open the season Saturday, March 7 against Iowa Community College at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minnesota. Oakton’s first home game is scheduled at 1 p.m. Saturday, March 28, vs. Illinois Skyway Collegiate Conference rival Prairie State College.