VALPARAISO,
IN�€"Dennis Bigley (Lancaster,
Texas) struck out 13 batters over eight innings, and Ricky Rivera (Santa Isabel,
P.R.) went 4-for-4 as No. 14 Oral Roberts University defeated
Valparaiso 4-1 in the opening game of a four-game Mid-Continent
Conference series, Saturday at Bauer Field.
After game one started
more than three hours late due to rain, game two was halted due to
darkness at the end of the second inning with no score, and will be
made up prior to tomorrow's scheduled doubleheader.
Bigley (9-1) allowed
one run, three hits and two walks as he dominated the Crusaders for
the second straight time. Bigley tossed a one-hitter against Valpo
in last season's Mid-Con Tournament opener �€"
striking out 12 without a walk �€" on his way to
Tournament MVP honors.
Bigley faced off
against Valpo ace Tom Starck (4-6), last season's conference
co-pitcher of the year. It was a pitcher's duel through the five
innings, until the Golden Eagles broke it open in the sixth.
Starck, who pitched with runners in scoring position in the first
four innings but allowed only a single run in the fourth, gave up
three runs in the sixth.
Rivera started the
rally with a one-out single and moved to third on a double by
Jeff Tuttle (
Orange, Calif.). Nate Griffin (Tulsa,
Okla.) singled to center to score Rivera, and Tuttle later scored
on a passed ball for a 3-0 lead. ORU made it 4-0 when Tuttle scored
on an error on Matt
VanDerBosch's (Hastings, Minn.) bunt single.
Valpo scored its lone
run against Bigley in the bottom of the sixth on Kevin Kutansky's
bloop single to right field.
Justin Ramsey (Elk Grove,
Calif.) worked a shutout ninth innings for his league-leading
eighth save.
Bigley, the Mid-Con's
leader in wins and strikeouts, struck out the side twice and fanned
two batters in three other innings.
The Golden Eagles and
Crusaders will resume game two at 11 a.m., The regularly scheduled
doubleheader will follow.
--ORU--
