Box Score | Season Stats

The Basics
Score: Oral Roberts 5 – Western Illinois 8
Records: ORU (14-13, 6-4 SL) – WIU (9-18, 3-7 Summit League)
Location: Macomb, Ill. (Alfred D. Boyer Stadium)

MACOMB, Ill. – Blake Hall went 4-for-4 and drew a walk for the Oral Roberts baseball team, but an early deficit could not be erased in an 8-5 loss at Western Illinois Friday afternoon from Alfred D. Boyer Stadium.

The Golden Eagles scored three times in the fifth and added a run in the sixth to trim the Leathernecks' early five-run lead down to 5-4. ORU had chances to even the score with the potential tying run in scoring position in the seventh and had base runners in both the eighth and ninth frames.

WIU pushed the lead out of reach plating three runs in the bottom of the eighth securing the victory in game one of the weekend series.

Turning Point

With ORU finding its rhythm offensively late in the ballgame, the Leathernecks turned to small ball in the eighth inning using two bunt singles and three stolen bases to extend their lead from one run to 8-4.

Inside the Box Score

- Hall tallied a double to start the day and added a single to left in his next at-bat as the junior recorded his fifth-straight game with multiple hits since returning to the lineup. He hammered a two-run home run in the fifth before his fourth hit of the day, a single in the seventh. The Magnolia, Arkansas, native drew a walk leading off the ninth to reach base for the fifth time Friday.

- Riley Keizor hit a RBI double in the fifth and sent a sacrifice fly into right in the sixth as he capped the day 1-for-1 at the plate with two RBI, while also drawing two walks. He increased his team-leading walk total to 22.

- Spencer Henson matched The Summit League lead hitting his sixth home run of the year with two outs in the ninth inning.

- ORU starting pitcher Josh McMinn battled all afternoon and closed the day allowing five runs, three earned, on eight hits across six innings. The senior struck out seven, including all three batters in his final inning on the mound.

Up Next

The Golden Eagles continue the weekend road trip at Western Illinois playing game two Saturday afternoon. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m.

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