FORT WAYNE,
Ind. – The starting pitching continued to be impressive for
Oral Roberts University as Mark Serrano threw eight solid innings as the
Golden Eagles completed the four-game sweep of IPFW with an 11-1
victory, Saturday at Mastodons Field.
With the
win, the Golden Eagles ended the regular season by capturing their
ninth straight victory to improve to 43-12 on the year and 24-4 in
The Summit League while IPFW falls to 14-36-1 and 10-17.
Serrano
(4-1) scattered eight hits while allowing one run – none
earned – with five strikeouts in eight innings of work.
The Golden
Eagles took awhile to get things going from the plate as IPFW's
Cole Uebelhor (0-8) had a no-hitter through three innings.
However, Ryan Groth snapped Uebelhor's no-hit bid by
ripping a double down the right field line in the fourth. Groth's
double moved Brian Van Kirk – who walked – to third
base then Michael Notaro followed by plating the two on a
single through the right side of the infield as ORU grabbed a 2-0
lead.
ORU tacked
on two more runs in the fourth frame. Pat Murray collected an RBI single that scored
Notaro and a fielding error by IPFW's second baseman on a Brendan Duffy ground ball scored David Genao.
IPFW put
runners on third base in three of the first innings, but each time
Serrano kept the Mastodons' bats at bay.
ORU chased
Uebelhor out of the ball game in the top of the seventh.
Back-to-back lead off singles by Juan Martinez and Ben Petralli put runners on the corners with no
outs. Van Kirk then proceeded to knock in Martinez with a RBI
sacrifice fly to right field. Groth singled off IPFW reliever Shaun
VanDriessche that allowed Petralli to score all the way from second
as ORU led 6-0. Genao added an RBI single to right field for ORU's
third run of the inning.
The
Mastodons finally got on the board in the bottom of the seventh,
ending Serrano's shutout bid. IPFW's got their run when Jared Davis
collected an RBI sacrifice fly that scored Garrett Segraves.
ORU pushed
across three more runs in the top of the ninth to provide some more
insurance as the Golden Eagles led 11-1. Murray produced a two-run
single, Kyle Price plated Genao on a fielder's choice and
Petralli added an RBI single.
ORU returns
to Tulsa to prepare for The Summit League Championship that starts
on Thursday at J.L. Johnson Stadium. The Golden Eagles enter the
tournament as the No. 1 seed after capturing the regular season
title and will face the loser of today's game between Centenary and
Western Illinois.
--ORU--
