Martinez, Sullivan Lead ORU to 7-2 Victory Over UTSA

TULSA – Juan Martinez (Bakersfield, Calif.) crushed two home runs and Jerry Sullivan (Budd Lake, N.J.) allowed one hit over seven innings as the Oral Roberts University baseball team cruised to a 7-2 victory over UT-San Antonio on Saturday afternoon at J.L. Johnson Stadium. The Golden Eagles pushed their season record to 5-0, while the Roadrunners fell to 4-3 overall.

The Golden Eagles jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first, as Martinez drew a walk and Seth Furmanek (Gilbert, Ariz.) followed with his second homer of the year over the batter's eye in center field. The home run was Furmanek's seventh hit in his last seven at-bats.

Martinez led off the third inning with a home run off the right-field foul pole to give the Golden Eagles a 3-0 advantage.

UTSA's Michael Rockett began the fourth inning with a home run to right center in what would be Sullivan's only hit surrendered in the contest.

Sullivan (2-0) tossed seven innings with nine strikeouts and four walks to earn his second victory of the season.

Martinez drilled another home run to lead off the fifth, this time to right center, for his second long ball of the season.

An inning later, Michael Notaro (Westlake Village, Calif.) singled to right field and newcomer Tyler Garewal (Bakersfield, Calif.) doubled to left field to plate Notaro and give ORU a 5-1 lead. One batter later, Garewal scored on a passed ball as the Golden Eagles pushed their margin to five runs.

ORU rounded out its scoring in the bottom of the seventh, as Furmanek led off with a double to center field and Notaro hit a sacrifice fly to right field to plate Furmanek for his sixth RBI of the season.

Jeff Burleson (Bakersfield, Calif.) and Drew Bowen (Tulsa, Okla.) closed out the final two innings for ORU, combining for one hit and one run with one strikeout.

Kris Ruepke (0-2) suffered the loss for UTSA, giving up five earned runs in five innings pitched with three strikeouts and three walks.

The Golden Eagles return to the field on Sunday at 1 p.m. to wrap up the series with the Roadrunners.

- ORU -

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Players Mentioned

#36 Drew Bowen: RHP; 6' 3"; Redshirt; Memorial HS

#24 Jeff Burleson: RHP/INF; 6' 2"; Junior

#5 Juan Martinez: INF; 5' 10"; Senior

#31 Michael Notaro: INF; 6' 3"; Senior

Players Mentioned

#36 Drew Bowen
: 6' 3"; Redshirt; Memorial HS
: RHP

#24 Jeff Burleson
: 6' 2"; Junior
: RHP/INF

#5 Juan Martinez
: 5' 10"; Senior
: INF

#31 Michael Notaro
: 6' 3"; Senior
: INF