METAIRIE, La.�€"Senior shortstop Tim Torres hit a pair of home runs, including the last of three bombs in a seven-run ninth, as Oral Roberts Universitytopped No. 13 Tulane 13-6, Saturday afternoon at Zephyr Field.

With the game tied at 6-6, the Golden Eagles (10-4) sent 10 batters to the plate in the top of the ninth. Catcher Andy Bouchie opened the inning with solo home run off reliever Daniel Latham (1-2). A one-out double by left fielder Pat Warfle plated right fielder Travis DeBondt for an 8-6 lead, and Brendan Duffy followed with a two-run single, scoring first baseman Chad Rothford and Warfle for a 10-6 advantage. Designated hitter Brian Aguailar next belted a 2-0 pitch over the right-center field wall for a 12-6 lead. Torres capped the scoring with a two-out solo homer.

Chris Ashman pitched a perfect ninth inning to preserve the win.

"It's a new club with only three seniors, said head coach Rob Walton. "Those three guys (Torres, Aguailar and DeBondt) are our leaders. We've got a bunch of new kids and we're all feeling each other out. Our offense has come together and they come out ready to play hard every day, and they have done that since day one. They continue to look to score, and that's happened again in the ninth."

Junior right-hander Eric Crichton (1-0) tossed 5.0 shutout innings of relief. Crichton allowed three hits and struck out four to pick up his first victory of the season.

Tulane jumped ahead early with three runs in the first off ORU starter Taylor McIntyre, but Torres ignited a five-run second with a leadoff bomb in to stake the Golden Eagles to a 5-3 advantage.
ORU added a run in the third on an RBI-double by Warfle �€" who went 4-for-4 with three doubles, three RBI and a sacrifice bunt �€" but the combination of reliever Stephen Porlier and Tulane's bats allowed the Green Wave to creep back into the game.

Tulane got a pair of runs in the third on an RBI-single by junior first baseman Mark Hamilton and a sacrifice fly by junior third baseman Tim Guidry, and Hamiltontied the game one inning later with a bases-loaded walk.

Porlier, meanwhile, struck out the first four men he faced, and seven of the first batters to step to the plate against him. He got himself into a jam in the eighth when third baseman Ben Baker singled, Warfle sacrificed him to second, and Duffy singled to put runners on the corners with only one out.

Porlier struck out Aguilar for the second out of the stanza, and from there, Tulane brought in Latham, who had not allowed a run in his last six outings. Latham walked the bases loaded, but got Torres to ground out to first to keep the game knotted at 6-all.

The Golden Eagles tied a season-high with 18 hits, including four home runs. In addition to Warfle's perfect day at the plate, Duffy and Bouchie each had three hits, while Aguailar, Torres and DeBondt had two apiece. Duffy, Aguailar and Warfle each knocked in three runs.

The Golden Eagles and Green Wave play the rubber game of their series at 1 p.m., Sunday.

--ORU--