First
Pitch
The Golden Eagles head to the West Coast for the second time this
season to face Long Beach State in a three-game series starting on
Thursday. The series will continue on Friday and will conclude on
Saturday.
The Coaches
Rob Walton is in his fourth season as ORU head coach, with a record
of 148-59 (.715). 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. Long Beach State is
coached by Mark Weathers. Weathers is in is fifth year at the helm
of the Dirtbags and has guided the program to a 200-122 record.
Coach Weathers has a 479-402-2 overall record in 15 seasons.
The Series: ORU vs. LBSU
ORU and Long Beach State are meeting for the first time since 1985
with the Golden Eagles owning a 4-1 advantage over the Dirtbags.
The last time these two teams played was on March 20, 1985
resulting in a 9-4 Golden Eagle victory.
ORU Notes
The Golden Eagles enter this weekend�€™s series
with a 15-12 record and are coming off a mid-week win against No. 8
Wichita State. ORU has won four-of-five, taking two-of-three
against Bethune-Cookman this past weekend and defeated No. 3
Arkansas last Tuesday. As a team, ORU is batting .249 with Jake
Kahaulelio leading the team with a .320 average and seven doubles.
Brian Van Kirk leads the squad with 21 RBI while Chad Rothford
has a
team-leading seven home runs. ORU continues to improve from the
mound as Chris Ashman, Jeremy Hefner, and Chance Chapman continue
to get better. Chapman has a team-leading 0.95 ERA and four saves
to go along with a perfect 3-0 record. Hefner leads the team in
wins with four.
Long Beach State Notes
The Dirtbags enter this weekend�€™s
series with a 14-11 overall record and a 1-2 record in the Big
West. LBSU is ranked No. 27 by Collegiate Baseball and as high as
No. 23 in the ESPN Coaches Poll. The Dirtbags have dropped
three-straight weekend series but have played 22 of their 25 games
against top-25 competition. Playing such a difficult schedule has
gotten the attention of the nation as LBSU is No. 3 in the latest
RPI Ratings by Boyd�€™s World. As a team, LBSU is
batting . 266 with Taylor Krick (12 GP) leading the way with a .378
average. Danny Espinosa is batting .313 with 30 hits and a
team-leading seven doubles, three home runs and 18 RBI. The
pitching staff has been impressive so far, recording a 3.53 staff
ERA. Sane Peterson has a 1.89 ERA in 19.0 innings of work and a 1-1
record. Andrew Liebel leads the squad in victories with
four.
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