TULSA�€"Four different pitchers combined to
allow two runs on nine hits as Oral Roberts University swept a
Mid-Continent Conference doubleheader from Centenary, winning the
opener 7-1 and holding on for a 2-1 victory in the nightcap as ORU
also swept the four game series this weekend at J.L. Johnson
Stadium.
The Golden Eagles' pitching
staff dominated the Gents in the four-game set. ORU limited
Centenary to a .165 batting average and posted a 0.28 team ERA. ORU
pitchers also struck out 29 batters and allowed just seven
walks.
Dane
Towery(Mustang, Okla.) earned the win in game one
after tossing five shutout innings in relief of starter Rene Recio (Corpus
Christi, Texas), who came out after the fourth due to control
problems. Towery (3-2) allowed two hits and struck out five batters
to get the win.
ORU (30-16, 15-1 Mid-Con) score all of its runs in the first four
innings. Brian
Hanson (Kelseyville, Calif.) gave the
Golden Eagles a 1-0 lead in the first with a sacrifice fly and
centerfielder Tim
Torres (Rocklin,
Calif.) followed with
an RBI single for a 2-0 lead.
Shortstop Michael
Hollimon (Dallas, Texas) made it 4-0 with a two-out,
two-run home run in the bottom of the second inning and Recio
knocked in Kelly
Minissale (Murphy, Texas) with a single three batters
later for a 5-0 lead.
Centenary (19-25, 6-10) scored its first run of the series when Tim
Ryan drove in Jonathan Ahearn in the third, but ORU responded with
a Brian
Aguailar (Lompoc,
Calif.) RBI single in the bottom of
the inning, and a Torres RBI single in the fourth gave ORU a 7-1
lead.
Towery cruised in his relief effort, allowing a lead-off single in
the fifth and then retired nine straight before a one-out infield
single in the eighth. He struck out two batters in the sixth and
seventh innings and one in the ninth.
Jonathan Christian (2-6)
suffered the loss for the Gents.
Game two started out as a pitcher's duel between
ORU's Nick
Jones (Broken
Arrow, Okla.) and
Centenary's Will Kaage, but it turned into a nail-biter after
Centenary loaded the bases with one out in the seventh.
The Gents started the scoring,
plating an unearned run in the top of the fourth. Gents shortstop
David Kiefer reached on a two-out error and scored on Chris
Wilson's RBI double for a 1-0 lead.
The Golden Eagles tied it in the bottom of the
fourth when Torres singled up the middle to score Jon Tackett (Tulsa, Okla.) from second
base.
ORU took a 2-1 lead in the on
Hollimon's two-out RBI double.
Daniel
Greenwalt (LaHabra, Calif.) took over
for Jones with two outs in the fifth inning after Jones caught a
spike on the pitching rubber. Greenwalt worked around a lead-off
single in the sixth, but struggled with control problems in the
seventh.
Greenwalt (5-1) walked
Jonathan Colgin to start the seventh and, after a strikeout on a
failed bunt attempt, hit catcher Alex Maldonado and walked Jared
Vincent to load the bases. But Greenwalt preserved the win by
striking out Alex Valdivia and retiring Tim Ryan on a fly ball to
left to end the game.
Kaage (5-3) was the hard-luck
loser for the Gents, allowing two runs on six hits in six innings
of work.
Jones allowed only the
unearned run on four hits and four strikeouts before leaving in the
fifth. Greenwalt tossed 2.2 scorless innings of relief with three
walks and three strikeouts.
Torres was 4-for-6 with three
RBI on the day, while Hollimon also had four hits and three RBI.
Tackett and Recio each had three hits.
The Golden Eagles return to action when they
visit Oklahoma State, 7
p.m., Tuesday.
--ORU--
