Oilers to be streamed by Creative Sports Network

Lights. Camera. Play ball.

On Monday night, the El Dorado Oilers will enter a new era when they host Arkadelphia in a key doubleheader at Lambert Field at Norphlet.

Both games will be streamed by Creative Sports Network, giving fans not only an opportunity to watch the games, but also allow college coaches the opportunity to scout potential recruits for their programs.

For Oilers coach Greg Harrison, the impact of how this could help players not just from Union County, but across the state, can’t be understated.

“Creative Sports Network is going to send this out to a minimum of 40 coaches, and that was at the end of May. It may be more than that now,” Harrison said. “One thing that was interesting about the situation was that they had a response from 21 of those coaches within an hour with excitement and interest of being able to watch these games from the comfort of their office or home.”

In the last two years, Arkansas has been represented at the American Legion World Series with Texarkana winning it

two years ago and Bryant going last year.

That success helped generate interest in showcasing the top talent the state has to offer.

“Our state has been blessed to have two really good programs represent us the last couple of years at the American Legion World Series,” Harrison said. “We have an opportunity of showcasing the caliber of baseball that’s played here in this state, and Creative Sports Network has taken it upon themselves to try to reach out to teams across the state and give them the opportunity of having a game of the week, especially when it’s a game that’s going to be critical to how teams are seeded for postseason play.”

The games being streamed could bring an immediate impact for Oilers players that are undecided on where they want to go to college.

“Each one of our ballplayers has a unique situation that they’re in,” Harrison said. “We have some that are juniors in high school that are trying to get prepared for their senior year. They want to hone in on a few skills that’s going to make them better for their senior year as well as showcasing themselves in front of college coaches and scouts.

“We have some recently graduated seniors that have a school picked out, but we have some that are undecided on where they are going to attend, and they’ll get an opportunity to play against teams that have kids that are already playing college ball.

“This is something that we definitely want to try and bring to South Arkansas and help these young men and give them the opportunity of seeing the caliber of ball that’s going to be played at the next level.”

Although Monday’s doubleheader will be a first for the team, Harrison said he is aiming to keep the Oilers moving in the right direction.

“There are some good things that have happened along the way such as Creative Sports Network reaching out to us and building a relationship with the state commissioner and other coaches across the state,” Harrison said. “But this is something that in my opinion, Union County and South Arkansas really needed.

“It takes time. It was one of my goals to try and get us to this point, but there have been other things to help advance it along the way. It’s going to take a few years for us to build the type of program that we want and will be respected across the state.

“We’re doing that from time to time by winning some key games that do turn some heads. It has always been my opinion that we have the talent in South Arkansas that can be competitive with the rest of the state, but these young men have to be provided an opportunity, and American Legion baseball has been an opportunity for them.”