Save for a hitless afternoon during Nixa's Opening Day win at Republic on Saturday, it's been a very good past few weeks for Eagles outfielder Sal Scalise.

The Nixa left fielder lined a pair of base hits and drove in two runs in the Eagles' home-opening 10-5 triumph over Strafford on Monday.

Scalise entered the start of Nixa's season in a positive frame of mind for several reasons, with Bryce Harper signing with his beloved Philadelphia Phillies among them.

"I was super pumped about it and hopefully we can get (Mike) Trout in two years," Scalise said. "It's been a long drought (11 years). But I feel another World Series coming."

Scalise is about as big a Phillies fan as one will find in the Ozarks. He's certainly no bandwagon jumper.

"I like Ryan Howard and he's kind of a hometown hero," Scalise said while explaining his love for the Phillies and referring to the former Philly slugger. "I'm from St. Louis and he's from St. Louis and of course played at Missouri State. He was my first favorite baseball player."

Scalise found a new favorite place to hone his skills over the long winter. He's spent as much time as anyone in Nixa's new indoor baseball facility beyond the center-field fence at Rotary Park. 

"With the new facility, we're getting a ton more reps," he said. "I've had a lot of swings every day. We used to only have two cages, so we were limited on how much we could do in practices. But with the new facility, we're getting a whole lot more work done. It gives us a big edge over teams who don't have a facility like ours."

Scalise's left-handed batting stroke looked to be in mid-season form against Strafford. His two-run double highlighted Nixa's five-run third inning. 

The double was also especially fulfilling for Scalise because it was a liner to left field.

"I've been training to go opposite field more often," he said. "That means I'm letting the ball get deep (in the strike zone), I'm not rushing anything and have more of a smooth swing in general."

"When Sal is at his best, he stays inside the ball and drives the ball 'oppo,'" Nixa coach Jason Daugherty added. "But he can drive the ball all over the park. He had an unbelievable summer (last year), but has been in a little funk. He's coming out of it. We need his bat in the lineup."

For the full game recap, click here.

STRAFFORD (ab-r-h-bi) — Foley 2b 4-0-2-0, Hester rf 3-0-1-0, Turner p 4-0-0-0, Caldwell ss 4-1-2-1, Maples c 3-1-0-0, Olson 1b 2-1-0-0, Sloan dh 2-1-0-0, Lumley lf 2-1-0-0, Langston cf 3-0-2-2, 

NIXA — Avery 2b 3-0-1-0, Crabtree rf 4-1-0-0, Reid 1-2-1-1, Michel 3b 2-2-0-0, Chapman 2-1-1-0, Roach dh 2-1-1-0, Long ss 4-2-1-1,  Engelmann 1b 2-1-1-1, Scalise lf 4-0-2-2, Leggett cf 3-0-0-0.

Strafford 0004100 -  5  7  2
Nixa         015004x - 10  8  1

WP - Uber. LP - Turner. Save — Mitchell. HR - Caldwell.