Box
Score
TULSA--Newcomers Brian
Aguailar (Lompoc, Calif.), Michael Hollimon (Dallas,
Texas), Kelly
Minissale (Murphy, Texas) and TimTorres (Rocklin, Calif.)
combined to drive in nine runs as No. 24 Oral Roberts defeated
Missouri Southern 15-0 in the 2005 season opener for both teams,
Friday at J.L. Johnson Stadium.
Four Golden Eagles
pitchers combined on a two-hitter for ORU. Seior right-hander
Dennis Bigley
(Lancaster, Texas) picked up the win, his 31st career
victory, allowing one hit and striking out seven over 5.0 scoreless
innings.
ORU put the game away
early, scoring four runs in the first and seven more in the second.
Minissale plated Hollimon with a sacrifice fly for the game's first
run and Ricky
Rivera (Santa Isabel, P.R.) followed two batters later
with an RBI single for a 2-0 ORU lead. Aguailar capped the scoring
with a two-out, two-run single as ORU grabbed a 4-0 lead.
The Golden Eagles
chased Lions starter Josh Tupper with a two-out rally in the
second. Nine straight batters reached during the rally. Brian Hanson
(Kelseyville, Calif.) hit a solo home run, Aguailar hit another
two-run single and Torres knocked in a pair with a triple. Hollimon
capped the outburst with an RBI double for an 11-0 lead.
Hollimon made it 12-0
with an RBI single in the fourth and Rene Recio (Corpus Christi,
Texas) made it 14-0 with a two-run single in the seventh. Hanson
drove in the final run on a fielder's choice in the eighth.
Three relievers
followed Bigley's strong start. Matt Hancock (Okmulgee,
Okla.), Dane
Towery (Mustang, Okla.) and Daniel Greenwalt (LaHabra,
Calif.) combined to allow one hit and one walk with three
strikeouts in four innings.
Tupper suffered the
loss for Missouri Southern, allowing 11 runs (eight earned) on 10
hits in 1.2 innings of work.
Third baseman Jon Tackett (Tulsa,
Okla.) led ORU's 16-hit attack, going 3-for-5 with three runs
scored. Hollimon, Hanson, Rivera, Recio, Aguailar and Torres each
had two hits apiece.
The Golden Eagles
continue their weekend series with the Lions at 2 p.m.,
Saturday.
--ORU--
