TULSA�€"Taylor McIntyre (Edmond,
Okla.) tossed a six-hit shutout in game one and Dennis Bigley (Lancaster,
Texas) followed with a four-hit shutout in game two as Oral Roberts
University swept a Mid-Continent Conference doubleheader from
Centenary at J.L. Johnson Stadium on Saturday. ORU won the opener
6-0 and the night cap 4-0.
The 9-inning
complete-game shutout is the first of McIntyre's (5-6) three-year
career, and only the third time he's pitched a full nine innings.
The junior lefty struck out a season-high 11 batters
�€" one off his career-high �€" in his
first career shutout. McIntyre also failed to issue a walk, the
first time this season he's put together a walk-free start.
ORU (28-16, 13-1
Mid-Con) took a 1-0 lead in the first inning when shortstop Micahel
Hollimon
(Dallas, Texas) led off with a walk, stole second, moved to third
on a fly ball and scored on a sacrifice fly by third baseman
Jon Tackett
(Tulsa, Okla.).
The Golden Eagles broke
through for three runs in the bottom of the second. Second baseman
Brian Hanson
(Kelseyville, Calif.) led off with a walk and scored on Tim Torres' (Rocklin,
Calif.) RBI triple for a 2-0 lead. After a walk to Travis DeBondt
(Bakersfield, Calif.), designated hitter Bigley plated Torres with
a sacrifice fly for a 3-0 lead. DeBondt then stole second and
advanced to third on a ground out by catcher Brian Aguailar (Lompoc,
Calif.). Hollimon followed with a single to right field, scoring
DeBondt for a 4-0 lead.
Hollimon belted a
two-run home run in the bottom of the fourth for a 6-0 lead.
McIntyre, meanwhile,
was cruising. He struck out a pair to end a two-on, one-out threat
in the second, and set the Gents (19-23, 6-8) down in order in the
third. He struck out a pair in the fourth, three in the fifth, and
picked up his 10th strikeout in the sixth inning.
Centenary starter J.C.
Biagi (2-5) lasted just 1.2 innings, allowing four runs on three
hits.
Game two was another
dominating start for Bigley (8-3). The senior right-hander tossed
his third shutout in four conference starts, and has yet to allow a
run in 27.1 innings of work against conference teams this season.
He allowed three hits and struck out four batters without a walk on
an economical 83 pitches.
Bigley hasn't allowed
an earned run in his last 37.1 innings, dating back to a start
against UC-Santa Barbara on March 24th, and lowered his
season ERA to 1.78 with his performance on Saturday.
ORU gave Bigley all the
runs he need in the first when first baseman Rene Recio (Corpus Christi,
Texas) drove in right fielder Kelly Minissale (Murphy,
Texas) with a two-out bloop single.
The Golden Eagles took
a 2-0 lead in the second when DeBondt scored on designated hitter
Kevin Lamb's
(Owasso, Okla.) one-out suicide squeeze bunt.
After leaving the bases
loaded in the third and standing a runner in scoring position in
the fourth, the Golden Eagles gave Bigley some breathing room in
the fifth when Aguailar doubled with the bases loaded, driving in
two runs for a 4-0 lead.
Centenary starter David
McElroy (5-2) was the tough-luck loser against Bigley, allowing
three earned runs on nine hits in six innings.
The Golden Eagles
collected 18 hits in the two games, with Tackett going 5-for-6.
Hollimon was 2-for-3 with two RBI and two runs scored in game one,
while Aguailar and Recio each had three hits on the day.
The Golden Eagles and
Gents close out the four-game series with a 12 noon doubleheader on
Sunday.
--ORU--
