MACOMB,
Ill. �€" Jerry Sullivan (Budd Lake,
N.J.) threw eight scoreless innings and Pat Warfle
(Melbourne, Fla.) added a three-run home run as Oral Roberts
University won its 10th straight Mid-Continent
Conference Championship, defeating Centenary 9-1 on Saturday
afternoon at Alfred D. Boyer Stadium. With the win, ORU earns the
Mid-Con automatic berth to the NCAA Championships.
ORU
improved to 40-15 while winning their 16th game in a row
to remain unbeaten in the month of May (16-0). This is the
10th straight season the Golden Eagles have posted at
least 40 wins in a season.
ORU
jumped on top with a run in the first inning to take a 1-0 lead
over Centenary. Brendan Duffy (Glendale, Ariz.)
led off the game with a single and later stole second and advanced
to third on a throwing error by Centenary�€™s
catcher Alex Maldonado. Duffy was plated for the first run on a
sacrifice fly by Jake Kahaulelio (Windsor,
Calif.).
The
Golden Eagles extended their lead to 5-0 in the top half of the
fourth. Brian Van Kirk (Southwest Ranches, Fla.)
scored Duffy on a sacrifice fly for the first run of the inning.
Warfle then delivered a three-run home run over the left field
fence off CC�€™s starter Johnny Noland (2-7).
Right-hander Sullivan (5-0) was solid on the mound as the
right-hander did not allow a base runner past second in the eight
innings while only throwing 94 pitches. The freshman struck out a
career-high eight batters while scattering five hits.
ORU
padded their lead with three runs in the sixth and one in the
seventh.
David Genao (Newark, N.J.) scored the first run in
the sixth when Kahaulelio reached base on an error by
CC�€™s third baseman Teddy Saenz. Tournament MVP
Chad Rothford (Fresno, Calif.) brought in two runs
with an RBI single to left field.
Kelly Minissale (Murphy, Texas) added an RBI
single in the seventh, scoring Genao.
Centenary saw its season end with a 28-31 record and their first
Mid-Con Championship appearance since 2005.
The
Gents scored a run in the bottom of the ninth when Matt Webb was
plated after an RBI ground out by Alex Maldonado.
Chris Ashman (Hemet, Calif.) and Erik
Crichton (Seal Beach, Calif.) combined to work the ninth
inning for the Golden Eagles
Duffy,
Minissale, Warfle and Genao all had two hits to pace the Golden
Eagle attack.
ORU
will find out their site and opponents for the NCAA Regionals,
beginning on June 1, Monday on ESPN�€™s Selection
Show at 11:30 a.m. (CDT).
2007
Mid-Con All-Tournament Team
Dallas
Cawiezell, Valparaiso
Chance Chapman, Oral
Roberts
Justin
Darr, Centenary
Brendan Duffy, Oral
Roberts
Jeremy Hefner, Oral
Roberts
Cameron
Penny, Centenary
Zach
Rodeghero, Valparaiso
Chad Rothford, Oral Roberts
Nate
Santiago, Centenary
Jeremy
Sheehan, Centenary
Jerry Sullivan, Oral
Roberts
Kyle
Surprenant, Western Illinois
Pat Warfle, Oral
Roberts
Adam Younger, Oral
Roberts
Tournament MVP �€" Chad
Rothford, Oral Roberts
Game Notes: There was a 93 minute rain delay that
started at 1:50 p.m. in the bottom of the
ninth�€¦ORU improved to 36-0 overall and 22-0
against Mid-Con competition when the Golden Eagles out hit their
competition�€¦With their 10th
consecutive Mid-Con Championships, ORU ties Texas for the
third-longest streak in NCAA Division I history, behind Oklahoma
State (16) and Wichita State (14).
-ORU-
