First
Pitch
The Golden Eagles are looking for some revenge on Tuesday night
against No. 7 Arkansas. ORU and Arkansas met earlier this year in
Fayetteville, resulting in a 10-2 Razorback victory at Baum
Stadium. ORU has won seven-of-ten and is currently 11-11 while
Arkansas is coming off a weekend where they defeated then No. 1
Vanderbilt two-of-three.
The
Coaches
Rob Walton is in his fourth season as ORU head coach, with a record
of 144-58 (.713). Not only was Walton the 2006 Mid-Con Coach of the
Year for the second time in three seasons, he also was awarded the
2006 ABCA Mid-West Region Coach of the Year. Arkansas is coached by
Dave Van Horn. Van Horn is in his fifth year as the coach at his
alma mater. He has guided the Razorbacks to a 175-95 record so far,
including a 17-6 mark this season.
The Series: ORU vs.
Arkansas
The two regional rivals have met 94 times with Arkansas
holding a 60-33-1 advantage. UA won this year�€™s
only meeting, 10-2 on March 13. Last season, ORU won both games
against Arkansas, including a 4-3 win over the Razorbacks in their
stadium in the Fayetteville Regional opening round.
ORU
Notes
Despite losing
their previous series to California, dropping the last two games
after beating the Golden Bears in the series opener, ORU has won
seven of the last ten games. The Golden Eagles are struggling from
the plate, hitting at a .238 average. Jake
Kahaulelio leads the team with a .325 average, 20 runs, 26
hits, and six doubles. Chad Rothford swings a big
bat for the Golden Eagles, leading the team with six home runs. Six
different Golden Eagles have recorded at least 12 RBI.
Brian Van Kirk leads the team by knocking in 18
runs. On the mound, ORU has a staff ERA of 4.63. Chance Chapman
leads the team with 0.64 ERA in 11 appearances and two starts.
Chapman is 2-0 and also leads the team in saves with three.
Chapman, Michael Jarman (2-2, 3.96 ERA),
Jeremy Hefner (3-1, 4.55 ERA), and Marcus
Tackett (2-1, 5.20 ERA) have all earned Mid-Con Pitcher of
the Week honors.
Arkansas Notes
Arkansas is off to a solid start in 2007 with a 17-6 overall record
and a 4-2 SEC mark. The Razorbacks rank No. 7 in the nation by
Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball. The Hogs hold a
8-4 mark on the road. Offensively, the Razorbacks are batting near
.300 with a .296 team batting average. Logan Forsythe leads the
team in batting average (.385). Casey Coon is the top run producer
with a team-high 36 RBI while also leading the team with 10
doubles. Danny Hamblin (.218) leads the squad with six home runs.
Southpaw Nick Schmidt is a force from the mound, recording a 5-0
record and a 1.80 ERA in 50.0 innings of work. Jess Todd (3-2, 4.34
ERA), Dallas Keuchel (2-1, 5.65 ERA), Chris Rhoads (2-0, 3.68 ERA),
and Travis Hill (1-1, 6.16 ERA) have all appeared in at least 10
games and are the Razorbacks main relievers. Todd leads the team
with two saves.
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