TULSA,
Okla. �€" Valparaiso�€™s Nick Mazzone
and Dallas Cawiezell limited Oral Roberts University to three runs
as the Crusaders defeated the Golden Eagles, 7-3, in Mid-Continent
Conference action on Sunday afternoon, at J.L. Johnson Stadium.
Valpo (15-23, 4-4) snapped ORU�€™s (24-15, 7-1)
nine game winning streak.
Valparaiso took an early 1-0 lead off starter Marcus
Tackett (Tulsa, Okla.) in the first inning. But, the
Golden Eagles responded with runs in the first and second inning to
take a 2-1 lead. Chad Rothford
(Fresno, Calif.) had an RBI single in the first inning while
Brendan Duffy (Glendale, Ariz.) plated a run with
a single in the second.
The
Crusaders would score two in the fourth and four in the fifth to
grab a 7-2 lead over the home team.
ORU
tried to rally but Mazzone and Cawiezell would only allow the
Golden Eagles to score a run in the eighth inning.
The
Golden Eagles recorded nine hits but left 14 runners stranded in
their second home loss of the season. ORU is now 20-2 in games
played at J.L. Johnson Stadium.
Chance Chapman (Paso Robles, Calif.) and
Michael Jarman (Stigler, Okla.) had solid
performances for the Golden Eagles out of the bullpen. Chapman
struck out five and allowed one hit in 3.0 innings of work while
Jarman threw 2.0 innings of scoreless relief.
Rothford went 3-for-5 with two RBI to pace the Golden Eagle attack
and Duffy extended his hitting streak to 14 games with a 2-for-3
effort. The senior also walked twice and scored two runs.
The
loss snapped a 40 game winning streak over Mid-Con opponents at
J.L. Johnson Stadium. The last time the Golden Eagles lost at home
in league play was to Oakland on May 19, 2002.
ORU
returns to action next weekend, traveling to Rochester, Mich., for
a four-game series with Oakland starting on Friday at 2:00 p.m.
-ORU-
