WACO, Texas �€" All-American Dennis Bigley pitched
seven solid innings in leading #24 Oral Roberts to a 9-3 victory
over #8 Baylor in front of 2,702 in Waco, Texas, Friday night.
Already down a pair of runs in the top of the third, the Golden
Eagles (4-0) found some life when Brian Hanson's single brought in
Tim Torres, cutting the deficit to 2-1. ORU would take the lead two
batters later when John Tackett's two-out single to right field off
the Bears (3-2) starter Mark McCormick (0-1) scored Kelly Minissale
and Hanson, making it 3-2 in favor of the visitors.
The one run lead proved to be all the cushion Bigley (2-0) needed.
He settled in after giving up two unearned runs in the bottom of
the second, retiring 18 of the next 19 Baylor batters he faced. For
the game, Bigley went 7.0 innings, giving up five hits and two
runs. He also struck out two while walking two.
Neither team could muster any offense during the middle four
innings, as the scored remained deadlocked at 3-2 when the Golden
Eagles came to the plate in the top half of the eighth. That's when
things began to unravel for the Bears.
After Travis DeBondt led off the inning with a walk, a throwing
error by catcher Josh Ford put runners on first and second with
nobody out. Left fielder Ricky Rivera then sacrificed the runners
over, and first baseman Rene Recio was intentionally walked to load
the bases.
Two of the next three batters, catcher Brian Aguailar and shortstop
Michael Hollimon, walked, pushing the ORU advantage to 5-2. With
two outs and the bases still full of Golden Eagles, pinch hitter
Kevin Lamb sent Tyler Bullock's 0-2 delivery over the left field
wall for a grand slam and 9-2 lead.
Tackett led the ORU offense with a pair of hits, two RBI's, and a
run scored.
Zach Dillon paced the Baylor attack, going 3-4 at the plate with an
RBI and run scored.
The Golden Eagles and Bears will play game two of their three-game
set tomorrow at 5:30 p.m.
-ORU-
