The Basics 
Score:  Oral Roberts 9 - South Dakota State 1
Records: ORU - (10-9, 2-1 SL) - SDSU (3-16, 1-2 SL)
Location: J.L. Johnson Stadium - Tulsa, Okla.

TULSA, Okla. - The Oral Roberts baseball team picked up its first Summit League series win of the season Sunday afternoon at J.L. Johnson Stadium as the Golden Eagles jumped out on top early and rolled to a 9-1 victory. 

Oral Roberts (10-9, 2-1 SL) used a five-run first inning en route to the win. All five runs scored came with two outs. Sophomore Matt Whatley got things started with a single through the left side that deflected off the shortstops glove. Rolando Martinez, Brent Williams, Sam Grellner and Trevin Sonnier followed suit with base hits of their own as ORU batted around. 

Whatley did not waste time to put the Golden Eagles on the scoreboard as picked up a solo home run to right field in the second to push the lead to 6-0. It was the Claremore, Oklahoma native's third homer of the season. He finished the game 2-for-5 with two runs scored. 

Second-year right fielder Noah Cummings continued his hot streak going 3-for-4 on the day with a run scored and two RBI. It marked the Alpine, California native's first three-hit ballgame of the season. 

Grellner, a sophomore earned his second consecutive start of the season Sunday and the hot-hitting right-hander continued to impress, finishing 2-for-3 with a double and two RBI on the day. Over the weekend, the Okarche, Oklahoma native went 5-for-8 with three runs scored and three RBI. 

South Dakota State (3-16, 1-2 SL) got on the board in the fourth after taking advantage of a leadoff walk from Luke Ringhofer. Newt Johnson singled to center, moving the runner to up to third. SDSU's Tony Kjolsing later grounded into a fielders choice to score Ringhofer. 

Taylor Varnell (2-0) was credited with the victory after going two and two third innings and facing 10 batters. The lefty struck out three on the day while allowing just one hit.

The ORU bullpen finished out the afternoon with Josh McMinn, Grant Glaze, Trevor McCutchin and Nathan Garza combined to allow only one run and strike out six. 

The Jackrabbits' Ryan Froom took the loss and fell to 0-4 on the season. Froom tossed four and a third innings and allowed 11 hits and seven earned runs. 

Notables

• ORU outhit the Jackrabbits 13-3 on the afternoon. 
• Cummings led the team offensively with a 3-for-4 day to go along with two RBI.
• Five Golden Eagles finished with two or more hits. 
• South Dakota State left six runners on base while ORU stranded eight.
• SDSU batters struck out nine times on the afternoon compared to ORU's four. 

Up Next
The Oklahoma Sooners will make the short trek to J.L. Johnson Stadium for a midweek matchup Tuesday night at 6:30 p.m. Fans can purchase tickets at the ticket office or by calling (918) 495-7ORU (7678).

For the latest information on ORU baseball, follow @ORUBaseball on Twitter or go to www.ORUAthletics.com. Fans can also receive updates on the team by downloading the Golden Eagles Front Row App at ORUAthletics.com/frontrow or in the App Store.

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