TULSA,
Okla. �€" Jake Kahaulelio (Windsor,
Calif.) broke an 8-8 tie with a three-run walk off home run in the
bottom of the 11th inning as Oral Roberts University
defeated Penn State, 11-8, on Friday afternoon at J.L. Johnson
Stadium.
With
two outs and Brendan Duffy (Glendale, Ariz.) and
Brian Van Kirk (Southwest Ranches, Fla.) on base,
Kahaulelio ended the longest game of the season for ORU (9-9) with
a towering shot to right center. The game lasted a total of four
hours and six minutes.
Penn
State (2-11) scored a run in the first and third innings to open up
a 2-0 lead on the Golden Eagles.
ORU
responded with four runs in the bottom of the fourth to take a 4-2
lead over the Nittany Lions. Kahaulelio led off the inning with a
double to right center and later scored on an infield single by
Adam Younger (Cape Coral, Fla.) for
ORU�€™s first run. Duffy singled to center field
and Pat Warfle (Melbourne, Fla.) and Younger
reached home after a throwing error by PSU�€™s
center fielder. Kelly Minissale (Murphy, Texas)
plated Duffy with a triple to right field.
The
Golden Eagles scored two runs on a Chad Rothford
(Fresno, Calif.) home run to field in the bottom of the seventh to
up their lead to 6-2. It was Rothford�€™s fifth
long ball this year.
Penn
State rallied in the eighth inning with five runs to take a 7-6
lead.
The
lead would not last long though as ORU scored two runs in the
bottom half of the inning. Minissale tripled for the second time to
score Duffy and Younger.
The
Nittany Lions tied the game in the top of the ninth as PSU scored
after a wild pitch by closer Erik Crichton (Seal
Beach, Calif.).
Minissale and Kahaulelio each finished with three RBI.
ORU is
now 8-0 on games played at J.L. Johnson Stadium. The Golden Eagles
look to complete their first sweep of the season tomorrow in the
series finale. First pitch is set for 1:00 p.m. tomorrow.
-ORU-
