TULSA�€"Oral Roberts University's offense exploded in
game one and three pitchers combined for a shutout in game two as
the Golden Eagles swept a Mid-Continent Conference doubleheader
from Oakland, Sunday at J.L. Johnson Stadium. ORU won the final
regular-season games 21-1 and 7-0, sweeping the series from the
Golden Grizzles.
Game one saw the Golden
Eagles (35-14 overall, 17-2 Mid-Con) victimize five Oakland
pitchers for 21 hits, including eight for extra bases. ORU batted
around three different times and six starters had at least two
hits.
Despite all the scoring
the game was actually scoreless until ORU batted around for the
first time in the third inning. An RBI single by Andy Bouchie gave ORU a 1-0
lead and Chad
Rothford followed with a two-run double for a 3-0
lead.
Kelly Minissale followed
Rothford's double with an RBI single to make it 4-0. A walk to
Brian Aguailar loaded the bases and Carter McQuigg was plunked
with a pitch, knocking in Rothford for a 5-0 lead. Travis DeBondt's sacrifice
fly made it 6-0.
An RBI groundout by
Minissale in the fourth made it 7-0 and ORU scored a pair of runs
in the sixth for a 9-0 lead.
Oakland (19-36, 13-11)
scored its lone run in the top of the sixth on an RBI single by
Chad Winkler, but ORU exploded in the bottom of the inning for five
runs. The Golden Eagles received run-scoring hits from Jake Kahaulelio,
Aguailar and DeBondt, plus a two-run single by Bouchie as ORU went
ahead 14-1.
The Golden Eagles
erupted again in the eighth, sending 12 batters the plate and
scoring seven runs. The hitting hero of the inning was relief
pitcher Eric
Mattison, who was forced to bat after Aguailar moved from
DH to behind the plate. Mattison laced an RBI double in his first
at-bat and later collected an RBI single before the inning ended.
Aguailar also blasted a three-run homer in the inning.
Daniel Greenwalt (5-2)
picked up the win for ORU with 7.0 strong innings of work. He
allowed one run on five hits, striking out seven batters with one
walk. Mattison allowed two hits and fanned four in the first outing
of his career.
Tim Torres, Rothford,
Bouchie and Minissale each had three hits for ORU. Aguailar knocked
in four runs while Bouchie and Minissale each tallied three
RBI.
Game two was much
different for the Golden Eagles, as they struggled to score against
a wildy-effective David Thomas (2-4).
Thomas walked seven
batters in his four-plus innings of work, but held ORU off the
board through the first three innings.
The Golden Eagles
finally broke through in the fourth, when they sent 11 batters to
the plate. Back-to-back lead-off walks to Ben Baker and Warfle
chased Thomas from the game, and reliever Brian Bernatowicz walked
Brendan Duffy
to load the bases. Baker scored the first run on a throwing error
and Tim Torres blooped a single to center to re-load the bases.
Kahaulelio lined a
two-run single through the left side for a 3-0 lead and Rothford
made it 4-0 with a sacrifice fly. Run-scoring singles by Minissale
and Baker put ORU ahead 6-0.
Chance Chapman (5-1) turned
in his second strong pitching performance in five days. On Tuesday,
Chapman held No. 17 Oklahoma State to two runs in seven innings in
a 13-2 ORU win. Against Oakland Chapman tossed five shutout innings
against Oakland, walking one and striking out four. Erik Crichton
and Minissale each tossed a scoreless inning of relief.
Torres had two hits and
scored two runs in the second game as the only Golden eagle with
more than one hit. Oakland pitching walked nine batters for the
game.
Up next for the Golden
Eagles is the Mid-Con Tournament, which begins Thursday at J.L.
Johnson Stadium. ORU is the top seed and will take on Centenary at
7 p.m. Oakland and Western Illinois round out the four-team
field.
--ORU--
