CLEMSON -- Nick Jones (Broken Arrow, Okla.)
pitched a complete game shutout to lead Oral Roberts University
past the College of Charleston, 6-0, and into the NCAA Clemson
Regional Championship, Sunday afternoon. The Golden Eagles will now
turn around and immediately take on regional host Clemson in a 6:00
p.m. (CDT) contest.
With ORU facing elimination, Jones (8-2) put together a masterful
performance as he kept the nation's top ranked offense guessing for
the entire nine innings. He limited the Cougars to just four hits,
their second lowest total of the season. Jones also fanned seven
batters while walking two.
The Golden Eagles gave Jones all the cushion he'd need in the
third, scoring up a three-spot on a pair of Charleston pitchers.
The scoring started when Ricky Rivera (Santa
Isabel, P.R.) doubled to left center field, bringing Brian
Aguailar (Lompoc, Calif.) in from second base.
Dennis Bigley (Lancaster, Texas) followed with a
sacrifice fly to right field that made it 2-0. Tim
Torres (San Pablo, Calif.) capped the inning's scoring
with a single to center that brought Rivera home and increased the
ORU advantage to 3-0.
Bigley added another pair of insurance runs in the seventh, sending
a shot of the wall in left center that knocked in Michael
Hollimon (Dallas, Texas) and Aguailar for a 5-0 lead.
Wes Braden (4-1) suffered the loss for Charleston, giving up three
runs on two hits in 2.1 innings of work.
Jones' complete game effort marked the Golden Eagles fourteenth
shutout of the season, adding a notch onto to their own team
record.
Bigley paced the ORU offense, going 2-for-3 with three RBIs. Rivera
and Aguailar each chipped in with a pair of hits and a RBI.
The Golden Eagles will now face regional host Clemson in a 6:00
p.m. contest. ORU must defeat the Tigers in tonight's game to force
a winner-take-all championship that would take place Monday night
at 6:00 p.m.
-ORU-
