Baseball 5/8/2009 12:00:00 AM

ORU Baseball Meets Oakland in Four-Game Series this Weekend

ROCHESTER, Mich. – The Oral Roberts University baseball team takes to the road to face Oakland in a four-game series in Summit League play this weekend. Game times are 2:00 p.m. (Friday), 11:00 a.m. (Saturday) and 2:00 p.m. (Sunday). Live stats and audio will be available at www.orugoldeneagles.com.

First Pitch
The Golden Eagles (23-11) return to Summit League action this weekend with a four-game series against Oakland in Rochester, Mich. The two teams have met 42 times since 1999, with the Golden Eagles holding a commanding 40-2 advantage. ORU won all four games against the Golden Grizzlies last season in Tulsa.

Scouting the Grizzlies
Oakland is currently 18-28 overall and 7-13 in Summit League play, which ranks seventh in the conference. Andrew Stafford leads the offense with a .363 average and nine doubles, seven home runs and 32 RBI. Justin Wilson has provided the power for Oakland, batting .341 with 12 doubles, 12 homers and 35 RBI for a .624 slugging percentage. Six players in the Oakland lineup are currently batting over .300. The Golden Eagles are expected to face right-hander Greg Welke, right-hander Kyle Teague and left-hander Aaron Wick. Welke has tied for the team-lead with four wins, while posting the second-best ERA among starters at 5.57.

Last Time Out
ORU played its first game in 10 days on Tuesday night, with a 7-6 win at Wichita State in 13 innings. Kyle Price led off the top of the 13th with a single, and Colby Price drove him in with his third hit of the night. Juan Martinez, who put the Golden Eagles up 4-3 in the fifth inning with a three-run bomb, and tied the game in the top of the ninth with a single, went 5-for-7 with four RBI. T.J. Kelly didn't allow a base runner in three innings with three strikeouts before Drew Bowen entered the contest in the 12th inning. After two singles, Josh Rosecrans was intentionally walked before Martinez and Colby Price turned an impressive double play to escape the threat. Bowen pitched a perfect 13th inning to earn his second win of the season, while Wichita State's Dalton Banwart (0-1) suffered the loss. The Golden Eagles extended their win streak over the Shockers to three games.

Last Time They Met
The two teams last met in a four-game series last May in Tulsa, where the Golden Eagles swept the Golden Grizzlies to claim the regular season Summit League title. ORU took the first contest 7-2 behind the performance of Carlos Luna, who improved to 11-0 on the season. T.J. Kelly pitched a scoreless ninth inning, striking out the side. Juan Martinez led the offense, going 3-for-4 with two RBI. The Golden Eagles took the first game of a doubleheader by a score of 7-4, as Michael Jarman pitched a complete game. Ben Petralli had three hits and two RBI, while Michael Notaro also drove in two. ORU won the second game 9-4, as Jerry Sullivan improved to 7-2 with six strikeouts in six innings. Notaro and Brian Van Kirk eached knocked in three runs. Mark Serrano shutout Oakland in his first career complete game, striking out nine batters as ORU cruised to an 11-0 victory.

Slingin' Serrano
ORU senior right-hander Mark Serrano has been dominant on the mound this season, posting an 8-0 record and a 2.35 ERA with 100 strikeouts and only 16 walks in 65.0 innings pitched. Serrano was named a Louisville Slugger National Player of the Week by Collegiate Baseball, as well as Summit League Pitcher of the Week, on April 27 after tossing a complete-game two-hitter with a career-high 16 strikeouts against North Dakota State on April 25. On April 21 against No. 7 Arkansas, Serrano struck out seven of the 12 batters faced in 3.0 innings. The Downey, Calif., native made his first start of the season on March 24 against Wichita State, tossing six innings while allowing two earned runs and striking out 13 batters. Serrano followed up by only allowing two hits in five innings with six strikeouts at No. 9 Texas on March 31. In the latest rankings, Serrano's 13.43 strikeouts per nine innings currently tied for second in the NCAA, while his 2.00 ERA placed 12th nationally. Serrano picked up four of his eight wins in relief this season. Serrano has been named the Summit League Pitcher of the Week three times this season.

Coming Through in the Clutch
Senior shortstop Juan Martinez has came up clutch in several crucial moments this season. Martinez singled to tie the contest in the ninth inning at Wichita State on Tuesday. Martinez slapped a single through the right side to drive in the winning run in the tenth inning on April 10 against SDSU. Against UT-Arlington on April 7, Martinez hit his second home run of the contest in the bottom of the tenth inning for a walk-off ORU victory. The day before, Martinez hit a two-run bomb in the top of the ninth inning against Dallas Baptist to bring the contest within a run. Against Wichita State, the Golden Eagles were trailing 3-1 in the eight inning before Martinez hit a two-run shot with two outs to even the score. With two outs in the 12th inning, Martinez singled before Tyler Garewal hit a home run to win the contest. Against No. 9 Texas, the Golden Eagles scored four runs in the top of the ninth inning to tie the contest, and Martinez was a big part of the rally, hitting a one-out double for a RBI. In the first series of the season against Western Michigan, the Golden Eagles were down 4-3 in the bottom of the ninth with two outs. With no runners on and down 0-2 in the count, Martinez managed to draw a walk before Seth Furmanek followed with a walk-off homer.

- ORU -

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Players Mentioned

#21 Michael Jarman: LHP; 6' 1"; Senior

#26 Carlos Luna: RHP; 5' 11"; Senior

#24 Brian Van Kirk: C/OF; 6' 1"; Senior

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

#9 Seth Furmanek: C; 6' 2"; Junior

#21 Tyler Garewal: OF; 6' 0"; Junior

#34 T.J. Kelly: RHP; 6' 1"; Senior

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

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

#6 Colby Price: INF; 5' 10"; Junior

#11 Kyle Price: INF; 6' 1"; Senior

#8 Mark Serrano: RHP; 6' 1"; Senior

Players Mentioned

#21 Michael Jarman
: 6' 1"; Senior
: LHP

#26 Carlos Luna
: 5' 11"; Senior
: RHP

#24 Brian Van Kirk
: 6' 1"; Senior
: C/OF

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

#9 Seth Furmanek
: 6' 2"; Junior
: C

#21 Tyler Garewal
: 6' 0"; Junior
: OF

#34 T.J. Kelly
: 6' 1"; Senior
: RHP

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

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

#6 Colby Price
: 5' 10"; Junior
: INF

#11 Kyle Price
: 6' 1"; Senior
: INF

#8 Mark Serrano
: 6' 1"; Senior
: RHP