TULSA, Okla.
�€" Kelly Minissale (Murphy, Texas)
and Chad Rothford (Fresno, Calif.) each recorded
three RBI to lead Oral Roberts University to a 10-4 victory over
Southern Utah in the Golden Eagle Mid-Con
opener. ORU has won three in a row and improves to 18-14, 1-0 while
Southern Utah falls to 6-32, 1-4.
ORU jumped
on Southern
Utah
early, posting two runs on the board in the bottom of the first
inning. Rothford
hit his conference-leading eighth home run of the year to opposite
field for a
2-0 Golden Eagle lead.
The
Golden Eagles put away the Thunderbirds with a six-run second
inning. Adam Younger (Cape Coral, Fla.) continued
to produce in front of
the home crowd with a single to left field to score Brian
Van Kirk (Southwest Ranches, Fla.). Pat
Warfle (Melbourne, Fla.) added another run-scoring
single
to make it 4-0.
Minissale
knocked in what turned out to be the game-winning hit with a
three-run bases-clearing
triple over the right fielder to make it a 7-0 ball game. Rothford
punched the
last run of the second inning with a sacrifice fly to right
field.
Southern
Utah did
not go down quietly though as the Thunderbirds punched three runs
in the third
and another tally in the fourth to trim the Golden Eagle lead in
half.
The
Golden Eagles produced runs in the fifth and the seventh to extend
their lead
to 10-4.
Chris
Ashman (Hemet, Calif.) won his third game in a row,
throwing five innings of work while allowing four runs. The senior
struck out four
in his first outing in almost two weeks.
Reliever
Erik Crichton (Seal Beach, Calif.) earned his
third save of the
season with a solid effort out of the bullpen. The right-hander
pitched four
scoreless innings, allowing just one base runner and striking out a
career-high
six batters.
Van Kirk
(3-of-4)
was one of two Golden Eagles with at least two hits. Lead-off
hitter Brendan Duffy (Glendale, Ariz.) was a
catalyst for the Golden
Eagles all night with a two-of-three effort, including two walks
and two runs
scored.
Bucky
Aona paced the offensive attack for Southern Utah with a
three-of-four effort. In
all, the Thunderbirds pounded out nine hits while ORU had 11.
ORU and Southern
Utah return to action tomorrow with a
twin bill starting at 2 p.m.
-ORU-
