TULSA�€"Rene Recio (Corpus Christi,
Texas) allowed one run and struck out a season-high nine over 7.1
innings and also belted a two-run homer in game one, and third
baseman Jon
Tackett (Tulsa, Okla.) went 5-for-8 in two games as Oral
Roberts University swept a Mid-Continent Conference doubleheader
from Valparaiso, Sunday at J.L. Johnson Stadium. The Golden Eagles
won the opener 12-3 and took the nightcap 4-1 to sweep the
four-game series.
Recio (2-2) put on a
vintage performance, reverting back to his2001- 2002 form, before
three arm surgeries limited him to just 25 innings over the last
two seasons. After allowing a one-out single to Mike Arensdorff,
Recio retired the next 14 batters through the end of the fifth
inning. He struck out a pair in the fourth and fifth innings, and
needed just 58 pitches to get through the game's first five
frames.
ORU (26-16, 11-1
Mid-Con) took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first without a hit.
Shortstop Michael
Hollimon (
Dallas, Texas) led off with a walk, stole second base with one out,
advanced to third on a ground out and scored when Valpo starter
Matt Gilikin (1-3) uncorked a wild pitch on ball four to Recio.
The Golden Eagles took
control with a six-run third inning. Gilikin, who walked seven
batters and threw three wild pitches, loaded the bases with one out
on a single and two walks before being replaced by reliever John
Snelten, who hit Dennis Bigley (Lancaster,
Texas) to force in a run and give ORU a 2-0 lead. Two pitches
later, leftfielder Travis DeBondt
(Bakersfield, Calif.) rifled a 1-0 pitch over the wall in right for
his first career grand slam and a 6-0 ORU lead.
After catcher Brian Aguailar
(Lompoc, Calif.) grounded out, centerfielder Tim Torres (Rocklin,
Calif.) blasted a home run to right for a 7-0 lead.
Valparaiso (11-25,
4-10) finally broke through against Recio in the sixth. The
Crusaders got three singles, including an RBI hit by Arensdorff to
make it 7-1, but Recio retired rightfielder Kevin Kutansky on a fly
ball to center and struck out first baseman Colin Reynolds to end
the threat.
ORU took an 8-1 lead in
the bottom of the sixth on a sacrifice fly by rightfielder Kelly Minissale
(Murphy, Texas). DeBondt hit an RBI triple in the seventh and
Aguailar followed with a double down the rightfield line to score
DeBondt for a 10-1 lead.
Recio's two-run homer
in the bottom of the eight capped the scoring for ORU and made it
12-1.
The Crusaders scored a
pair of runs off reliever Tim Robertson (Huntington
Beach, Calif.) in the ninth for the final margin.
Game two started out a
pitching duel between ORU's Nick Jones (Borken Arrow,
Okla.) and Valpo's Nick Mazzone (1-2). The game remained scoreless
through four innings before the Golden Eagles broke through in the
bottom of the fifth.
Poor defense by Valpo
and timely situational hitting helped ORU get four runs in the
fifth. Bigley was hit leading off and Mazzone's throw to second on
a sacrifice attempt by Aguailar went into centerfielder for an
error. Torres singled to center to load the bases, and Hollimon
drove in a run with a fielder's choice groundout for a 1-0 lead.
Minissale made it 2-0 on a single to right, and Tackett grounded
out to force in the third run and put ORU ahead 3-0. Valpo
shortstop John Giusti's bad throw on a grounder by Recio allowed
Minissale to score from second for a 4-0 Golden Eagles lead.
Valpo made some noise
in the seventh and final inning. Jones (4-2) struck out second
baseman Jon Rupno to start the inning, but then issued back-to-back
walks and was relieved by Daniel Greenwalt (LaHabra,
Calif.). Brian Rzepka popped up to Bigley at first on Greenwalt's
first pitch for the second out, but Valpo scored a run
�€" breaking Jones's 25.2 scoreless innings streak
�€" when Hollimon muffed a grounder by Arensdorff for
an error. But Greenwalt struck out Kutansky to end the game and
pick up his fourth save.
Jones allowed only the
one unearned run in 6.1 innings, striking out six and walking three
to get the win.
ORU had 16 hits in two
games, also drawing 10 walsk and getting hit twice. Tackett led the
way with five hits, including a 3-for-5 effort in game one. DeBondt
enjoyed his best game of the season in the opener, going 3-for-5
with a double, triple, home run and five RBI. Torres and Tacket
each had two hits in game two.
The Golden Eagles
return to action when they open a four-game Mid-Con series against
Centenary with a 2 p.m. doubleheader on Saturday.
--ORU--
