Game One
Game Two
TULSA--Dennis
Bigley (Lancaster, Texas) tossed a no-hitter with 12
strikeouts in game two as No. 25 Oral Roberts University swept a
Mid-Continent Conference doubleheader from Chicago State on
Saturday, winning 21-6 and 8-0 at J.L. Johnson Stadium.
Bigley (5-1) recorded just the
fifth no-hitter in school history and the first since Tim McCoy and
Larry Gryskevich combined to no-hit Southwestern Oklahoma 6-0 on
Feb. 15, 1986 in ORU's season-opener. Bigley struck out the side in
the seventh, and caught John Lopez looking to end the game.
Bigley faced the minimum 21 batters
in the 7-inning game, but missed out the first perfect game in
school history when he plunked Joe Perez with one out in the sixth.
But Perez was erased when he was caught stealing as Dave Walter
struck out, one of Bigley's career-high tying 12 strikeouts.
ORU (21-6, 2-0) took a 3-0 in the
top of the first off Cougars (1-24) starter Houston Mad (0-4).
Grant Plumley (Lake Forest, Calif.) doubled in
Ryan Welborn (Yukon, Okla.) for a 1-0 lead, and
Brian Hanson (Kelseyville, Calif.) followed two
batters later with a two-run double, scoring Matt
VanDerBosch (Hastings, Minn.) and Plumley for a 3-0
lead.
The Golden Eagles added single runs
in the second and third for a 5-0 lead, and VanDerBosch belted a
2-run homer --his first-- in the bottom of the fourth for a 7-0
lead. Plumley singled in ORU's final run in the sixth.
ORU had to rally from an early
deficit to win the opening game.
Lopez hit a two-run home run for
Chicago State as part of the Cougars' 4-run first off ORU starter
Adam Lesko (Las Vegas, Nev.). The Golden Eagles
came back with two runs in the bottom of the inning on Josh
Lex's (Elk Grove, Calif.) two-run single, trimming CSU's
lead to 4-2.
The Golden Eagles turned a triple
play -- ORU's first in 13 years -- to get out a jam in the top of
the second inning, and Plumley's two-run double tied it a 4-4 in
the bottom of the second.
After Chicago State took a 6-4 lead
with two runs in the top of the third, ORU scored five runs in the
fifth, four in the sixth and two runs in both the seventh and
eighth innings to cruise to the win.
Bigley hit a pair of home runs in
the opening game, and VanDerBosch had two triples and three RBI.
Plumley finished the first game with five RBI and had seven in the
twinbill.
Justin Ramsey
(Elk Grove, Calif.) picked up
the win in the first game, pitching four scoreless innings to
improve his season record to 4-0. Ryan Payne (0-3) took the loss
for Chicago State.
Game one also saw the return to the
mound of junior Rene Recio (Corpus Christi,
Texas), who pitched in a game for the first time in over a year
after having surgery last March to repair a stress fracture in his
right elbow. Recio worked a perfect ninth inning.
The Golden Eagles and Cougars
conclude their 4-game series with a doubleheader on Sunday,
starting at 12 noon.
--ORU--
