TULSA�€"Taylor McIntyre (Edmond,
Okla.) pitched 7.2 solid innings in game one, and No. 14 Oral
Roberts University broke open a scoreless game with five runs in
the fifth inning of game two as the Golden Eagles swept a
Mid-Continent Conference doubleheader from Oakland University,
winning the opener 4-1 and the night cap 6-0 Sunday at J.L. Johnson
Stadium.
The victories keep ORU
(42-8, 18-0) perfect in Mid-Con play and extend the Golden Eagles'
league winning streak to 37 games (including the 2003 Mid-Con
Tournament).
McIntyre (2-1) won his
duel with Oakland's Dominic Carmosino (4-6). ORU's sophomore
left-hander enjoyed his best outing of the season, allowing one run
on six hits, while walking two and striking out seven.
Oakland took a 1-0 lead
in the top of the first, getting three singles off McInyre. Right
fielder John Sullivan knocked an RBI single with two outs but the
Golden Grizzlies had just three more hits off McIntyre over the
next six innings.
Carmosino was strong in
his first six innings, retiring 10 straight batters at one point.
But he tired in the seventh, walking three batters to load the
bases with two outs. Catcher Nate Griffin (Tulsa, Okla.)
gave ORU a 2-1 with a two-run double, and Matt VanDerBosch (Hastings,
Minn.) followed with an RBI single off reliever Brad Morenko for a
3-1 advantage. Griffin later scored on a passed ball for a 4-1
lead.
Justin Ramsey (Elk Grove,
Calif.) pitched the final 1.1 innings for his league-leading
11th save of the season.
Game two shaped up to
be another pitcher's duel, this time between Oakland's Kyle Boehm
and ORU's Dane
Towery (Mustang, Okla.). Both pitchers kept the game
scoreless through the first four innings, and Adam Lesko (Las Vegas,
Nev.) kept it scoreless after relieving Towery with one on and none
out in the fifth.
ORU broke open the
scoreless affair by sending 10 batters to the plate in a 5-run
fifth. VanDerBosch started the scoring by ripping a two-run single
with the bases loaded and no outs. Brian Hanson (Kelseyville,
Calif.) delivered a sacrifice fly for a 3-0 lead, and Grant Plumley's (Lake
Forest, Calif.) single to right made it 4-0. Dennis Bigley (Lancaster,
Texas) scored the final run of the inning on shortstop Ryan Heath's
two-out error for a 5-0 ORU advantage.
VanDerBosch capped the
scoring with a solo home run in the sixth, his third of the season,
for the final 6-1 margin.
Lesko (6-1) went 3.0
shutout innings to extend his scoreless innings streak to 20. Lesko
allowed just one hit and struck out one batter.
ORU managed just 11
hits in the doubleheader, but walked 12 times against Golden
Grizzlies pitching. VanDerBosch led the way by going 3-for-7 with a
homer and four RBI.
ORU concludes the
regular-season when the Golden Eagles visit Southern Utah for a
four-game Mid-Con series, beginning 1 p.m., Friday in Cedar City,
UT.
--ORU--
