Osik, Rams Eye College World Series

Most people believe having the best hitters and flashiest players is what wins championships. This is not what Keith Osik believes. 

His philosophy of baseball is unbelievably more intricate and complex than just having the best players. Consider his background: Osik, 43, played at LSU for three years before a 10-year Major League Baseball career. Osik played in a College World Series and won the 1987 state title at Shoreham-Wading River High School. 

These experiences helped him to discover the method to winning baseball. The coach racked up an impressive fifth straight Skyline Conference championship this season.

Osik, who owns a 177-113 career record in seven seasons, led Farmingdale State to the NCAA Division III College World Series in 2009. This week he hopes to make a return trip.

Farmingdale State will host the NCAA Division III New York Regional, which kicks off Wednesday. Farmingdale State (29-10) is the No. 2 seed in the six-team regional, behind No. 1 SUNY-Cortland (30-7-1).

The Rams face No. 5 Skidmore at 3:30 p.m. The winner plays Thursday at 7 p.m. Tickets are $5; $2 for seniors and students. 

Osik believes in a simple and effective strategy: “Our formula is get ‘em on, get ‘em over, get ‘em in.” 

He is also a big believer in manufacturing runs: “You need to manufacture a lot of runs via a bunt, hit and run, and stealing bases,” he said.

But pitching and defense win championships. “You have to play good defense, especially in the playoffs,” Osik said. “It is tough to recover from errors.”

The Rams batted .326 this season with just six home runs, but added 109 stolen bases and 305 runs scored. The team’s 4.42 ERA and 193 runs allowed were tops in the Skyline. 

 “We have a formula that we are going to stick to and can win any given time.” Osik said.  

Will that formula result in playoff magic? Another berth to the College World Series rides on the outcome.

Editor's Note: Nick Casey and Ricky Zebler are student journalists at Farmingdale State.