By BYRON BEERS

Owen Bailor is a staple in the middle of Bixby’s lineup and a key ingredient in the Spartans’ pitching rotation.

The 6-foot-4 senior first baseman/pitcher and Oral Roberts University commit does everything right, according to Bixby head coach Justin Delay.

“Owen does the right things at all times,” Delay said. “He leads by example on and off the field. In the classroom he performs, and on the field he performs. Owen is a key piece to the success that Bixby has had.”

On the mound, Bailor, a left-hander, features a three-pitch repertoire and can reach 87 mph on his fastball. As a junior, he recorded 35 strikeouts in 27.2 innings of work and posted a 1.50 earned run average while holding opposing hitters to a .163 batting average.

Bailor can also club with the best of them from the left side of the plate. In 2022, he hit .412 with a pair of home runs and drove in 36 runs. He also had a .507 on-base percentage.

“[He’s] a great offensive and defensive first baseman,” Delay said. “On the mound, he’s one of our top arms with a three-pitch mix. He lives 84-86 and up to 87.”

Bailor, who got his start in baseball at the age of four and also played football up to his freshman year, focuses most of his time on academics and hopes to be named salutatorian this year.

“I’ve always been an academic kid and I’ve always made school a priority,” he said. “I always make sure I don’t put anything off until the last second academics wise and then once I’m done with those I immediately use the spare time to either workout or put in work for baseball. Then all the extras come usually during the weekends.”

Bailor’s primary goal is to help lead the Spartans to a state championship in his final campaign. Bixby had a stretch of 14 consecutive wins in March.

“Winning a state championship is definitely at the top of my list for my goals this year,” Bailor said. “All the talent is here and the tools are present, but anything can happen, and as long as we’re all fighting for the same goal this season could be record breaking.  Then coming in second, I would want to be named salutatorian at my high school for academics.”

Bailor, who enjoys the in-and-out drill prior to games, feels his biggest strength is by being a leader of the program. He’s also increased his physical strength.

“I think one of my strengths is that I try to set the best example on and off the field for everyone around me, as well as my ability to compete no matter the situation I’m in,” he said. “I think I’ve improved my overall strength the most. I started off as a lengthy and scrawny freshman and now I’m still tall but added some strength to it.”

Bailor has one particular moment that stands out the most on the diamond where he posted a win on the mound.

“My most memorable moment would probably have been the game against Choctaw last year in which we were ranked number 2 and they were ranked number 4 at that time,” he said. “The energy in that game was so electric the whole time and to pitch and beat such a great team really felt good and gave me a huge boost of confidence on the mound for the rest of last season.”