Ozbolt striving to improve in college

Though he didn’t get the chance to play during the season, Cody Ozbolt used the time to improve his pitching arsenal.

The Iola High School graduate said he played in Southwestern University intersquad games during the fall and spring, yet he was among a number of the roster’s 32 pitchers who did not see action.

“Hopefully this year I’ll get an opportunity,” said the right-hander, who was in his first year in the program after transferring from Southwestern Christian University.

He added a splitter to his arsenal, which also features the two-and four-seam fastball and curveball. “It was a really good pitch for me,” he said.

He started sometimes in the intersquad games but mainly was a reliever.

“I had a few rough outings. I had more good than bad,” he said. “I was having trouble finding the (strike) zone in some of those rougher outings.” He is enrolled

He is enrolled in online summer classes and said he will begin working with a pitching coach two to three times a week after he overcomes his current bout with COVID.

After completing the classes, he also may play in a summer league.

Ozbolt graduates in May and has at least two years of eligibility remaining. He said he will check to see if the past season will count as a redshirt year.

More baseball

Pitcher Tyler Eppler won two consecutive May starts for the Kiwoom Heroes of the Korea Baseball Organization. The Navasota High product’s victory against Lotte was his best outing of the season, for he allowed a season-low three hits in a complete-game shutout. The 29-year-old right-hander tied his season high of five strikeouts and did not issue a walk. Eppler had a 4-2 record and 3.06 earned run average in 11 starts.

Nicholls State University pitcher Josh Mancuso had no record and a 5.06 ERA in two starts for Acadiana in the summer Texas Collegiate League. The left-hander is out of Anderson-Shiro High.

Past Rattler Dalton Acosta singled in three atbats for the Marlins during a loss to the Aviators in the Houston Baseball Association Saturday league.

Send updates about area athletes to Barbara Boxleitner at jdanddoc@gmail.com.