TULSA-Four
different players hit home runs as Oral Roberts snapped a
three-game losing streak with a 13-2 thumping of Western Michigan
in the opener of a three-game series, Friday at J.L. Johnson
Stadium.
The Golden
Eagles (3-6) opened the scoring in the first inning when Chris
Elder plated Joey
Winiecki with a single to right for a 1-0 lead.
Colby Price led off
the second inning with a solo home run, his team-leading second of
the season, for a 2-0 lead. Brett
Sowers followed with a double and scored two batters later on a
single by Tyler Garewal as ORU took a
3-0 lead. Tyler
Saladino made it 4-0 with a sacrifice fly.
Saladino
broke the game open in the fourth with a three-run homer as ORU
gained a 7-0 advantage.
Western
Michigan (2-9) got on the board in the top of the fifth when Jamie
Simpson knocked in a pair of runs with a one out single against ORU
starter Bryce Smolen, cutting the
lead to 7-2.
Brett Sowers got one
of the runs back with a one-out solo home run in the fifth, giving
the Golden Eagles an 8-2 advantage. Robert Barbosa jumped in on
the home run parade when his two-run blast in the bottom of the
seventh gave ORU a 10-2 lead.
Price belted
his second home run of the game leading off the eighth, part of a
three-run inning.
Mark Guest (1-0)
picked up the win with 4.2 innings of hitless work in relief of
Smolen. Guest struck out four and walked four. Smolen went 4.1
innings and surrendered two runs (one earned) on seven hits while
walking one and striking out a pair in his first career start.
Saladino led
ORU's 16-hit offensive effort, going 3-for-5 with five RBI. Sowers
and Garewal each had three hits for the Golden Eagles.
Brian Stroud
(0-3) suffered the loss for Western Michigan, allowing eight runs
on 10 hits in 4.2 innings.
The Golden
Eagles and Broncos resume their series at 2 p.m., Saturday.
--ORU--