TULSA�€"Sean Sorrow (Bakersfield,
Calif.) and Dennis
Bigley (Lancaster, Texas) each hurled complete games and
No. 14 Oral Roberts University clinched its sixth consecutive
Mid-Continent Conference regular-season crown with a doubleheader
sweep of Oakland, winning 6-1 and 9-3, Saturday at J.L. Johnson
Stadium.
ORU (40-8, 16-0
Mid-Con) also reached the 40-win plateau for the seventh
consecutive season.
Sorrow (9-1) lowered
his league-leading ERA to 2.05 after allowing one run in nine
innings. Sorrow scattered five hits and struck out five, but also
walked a season-high five batters.
Oakland (18-30, 9-9)
took a 1-0 lead in the first inning of game one on Ty Herriott's
RBI single. That was all the Golden Grizzlies would get off
Sorrow.
Down 1-0, ORU scored
three times in the bottom of the first. Josh Lex (Elk Grove,
Calif.) had an RBI single, Brian Hanson (Kelseyville,
Calif.) lifted a sacrifice fly and Bigley blasted an RBI triple off
the top of the wall in straightaway centerfield for a 3-1 ORU
lead.
Hanson hit a solo home
run in the third inning for a 4-1 advantage, and the Golden Eagles
padded their lead with a pair of runs in the sixth. Grant Plumley (Lake Forest,
Calif.) smashed an RBI double, and Bigley plated Plumley with a
sacrifice fly on a drive caught at the wall in left-centerfield,
giving ORU a 5-1 lead.
Steve Kniebbe (2-6)
took the loss for Oakland, allowing five runs on eight hits in
5-plus innings of work.
In game two, the Golden
Eagles pounded Oakland starter Billy Schmeider (3-7) for seven runs
in the first two innings. Scott Modeste (Sacramento,
Calif.) delivered a bases loaded double in the bottom of the first
for a 3-0 ORU lead, and Lex's three-run homer in the bottom of the
second highlighted a four-run inning for ORU.
But Oakland clawed
right back, getting three runs in the top of third off Bigley. The
Golden Grizzlies recorded four consecutive singles, with Ryan Heath
knocking in the first two runs with the fourth straight hit.
Oakland's other run scored on an RBI groundout by Tim Doig.
Bigley, however,
settled down and limited Oakland to just two base hits over the
final four innings as he secured his league-leading 10th
win. Bigley picked up his fifth complete game, allowing three runs
on six hits while striking out six with three walks.
Lex knocked in his
fifth RBI of the day in the fourth when his single scored Matt VanDerBosch
(Hastings, Minn.) for an 8-3 lead, and Plumley doubled in another
run in the bottom of the sixth for the final 9-3 margin.
Hanson led an ORU
offense which collected 21 hits in two games games. The junior
second baseman was a combined 5-for-7 with two RBI and two runs
scored. Lex was 3-for-5 with five RBI and was also hit by pitch
four times. Plumley enjoyed his best Mid-Con doubleheader of the
season, going 4-for-9 with two doubles and three RBI.
The Golden Eagles and
Golden Grizzlies conclude their four-game series with a 12 noon
doubleheader on Sunday. Following the second game, ORU will honor
its 11 seniors in Senior Day ceremonies.
--ORU--
