Box Score
TULSA, Okla. -- Andy Hargrove went 5-for-5 with
a home run and four RBI in his ORU debut, leading the Golden Eagles
to a season-opening 12-0 win over St. Gregory's (Okla.) Monday
afternoon at J.L. Johnson Stadium.
Hargrove, a 6-1, 250-pound first baseman who spent his first two
seasons at Yavapai (Ariz.) CC, became just the fifth ORU player to
post a five-hit game since 1999. The son of Baltimore Orioles'
manager Mike Hargrove just missed becoming the third player in
school history to hit for the cycle, falling a triple short of the
mark.
ORU (1-0), beginning the season with just two every-day players
(catcher David Castillo and third baseman Scott Campbell) returning
off last season's 48-19 squad that advanced to the NCAA Regional
Finals, battered the NAIA Crusaders for 19 hits on the day. Every
starter had at least one hit, the first time ORU has accomplished
that since a 9-5 win at Oklahoma on March 14, 1998.
ORU coach Sunny Golloway elected to send out a different pitcher
in every inning, and the results were just what he had hoped for.
Nine different Golden Eagle pitchers, including starter Dennis
Bigley, combined for a three-hit shutout and nine strikeouts of the
Crusaders (2-7).
Tulane transfer Kris Kline (1-0) earned the win after being the
pitcher of record when ORU took its 1-0 lead in the second inning.
Hargrove led off the frame with a double off St. Gregory's starter
Aaron Weger (0-3), and later scored on a double-play.
Five other ORU players had two hits each, including Castillo,
Campbell, Grant Plumley, Scott Modeste and Ryan Welborn.
Newcomer Eric Keller, a transfer from Eastern (Okla.) State JC,
also hit a two-run pinch-homer for the Golden Eagles in the eighth.
The 5-11, 200-pound Tulsa native lined the first pitch he saw from
Weger (his 100th pitch of the game) just inside the right field
foul pole to give ORU an 11-0 lead.
ORU returns to action this weekend when the Golden Eagles begin
a three-game series at Texas-San Antonio Friday at 7 p.m. Games
against the Roadrunners are also scheduled for 1 p.m. on Saturday
and Sunday.
