The Basics
Score: Oral Roberts 11 – Wichita State 6
Records: ORU (6-2), Wichita State (2-7)
Location: Tulsa, Okla. (J.L. Johnson Stadium)
Win: Jacob Widener (1-0) | Loss: Grayson Jones (0-1) 
 
TULSA, Okla. – The Oral Roberts baseball team homered a season-high three times and the pitching staff struck out a season-best 14 batters as they downed Wichita State, 11-6, in midweek action Tuesday afternoon at J.L. Johnson Stadium.

Trailing 5-3 in the sixth, the Golden Eagles exploded for eight runs in the frame to regain the lead, 11-5, which they never relinquished. 

Jackson Loftin led off the inning with a solo home run to left, cutting the lead to 5-4. Dustin Demeter drew a walk to load the bases and Holden Breeze followed with a two-run double to left to put ORU back in front, 6-5. Following a Caleb Denny walk, Alec Jones scored Breeze and Demeter on a two-run single through the left side. Justin Quinn capped off the big inning with a three-run shot to right to make it 11-5, Golden Eagles.

Andrew Roach drew the start for ORU and delivered four strong innings, allowing only one run and striking out seven. The junior retired the first nine batters he faced on the day.

Jacob Widener picked up the win in relief, tossing a scoreless frame in the sixth. Kaleb McCullough threw a scoreless eighth and Cade Denton put up a zero in the ninth to nail down the win.

Eight of the nine ORU batters in the lineup recorded a hit, led by three-hit performances from Loftin (3-5) and Joshua Cox (3-4). Quinn and Cox drove in a game-best three runs each in the win.

The Golden Eagles struck first thanks to a two-run homer by Cox that cleared the right-field fence in the second. 

Wichita State put a run on the board in the fourth courtesy of a homer off the bat of Brock Rodden but ORU quickly had an answer. After a leadoff triple by Loftin, Cox followed with an RBI single through the left side to make it 3-1, ORU.

The Shockers took their first lead of the afternoon, 5-3, on a grand slam in the fifth. Following the offensive outburst by the Golden Eagles, Wichita State could only scratch across one more run in the seventh to make the final 11-6.
 
Inside the Box Score
- Breeze registered two RBIs for a fourth straight game.
- Jones plated a season-high two runs in the win.
- Cox finished the day 3-for-4 at the dish with three RBIs.
- Loftin crossed the plate a game-high three times in the win.
- Denny logged his second stolen base of the year.
- Loftin swiped a bag for a fourth straight game and now has five on the year.
- Demeter drew a game-high two walks.
- McCroskey extended his hitting streak to eight games in the win.
- McCullough struck out two batters in a scoreless eighth.
- The eight-run sixth marked the first time the Golden Eagles accomplished the feat since April 6 of last season at Oklahoma.
- ORU's three home runs were a season-high.
- The ORU pitching staff totaled a season-best 14 strikeouts in the win.
- As a team, the Golden Eagles hit .421 (16-38) on the afternoon.
- Five ORU players tallied a multi-hit game.
- Eight of the nine Golden Eagles in the lineup recorded a hit.

Notes
- This was the 69th meeting in the series history between the Golden Eagles and Shockers.
- With the victory, ORU is now 32-37 all-time against Wichita State.
- Head Coach Ryan Folmar is now 5-11 in his career against the Shockers.
- The two squads will face off one more time this season in another midweek contest Tuesday, March 8 in Wichita, Kansas.


Up Next
The Golden Eagles wrap up their eight-game homestand with a three-game series against Pacific starting Friday, March 4 at 3:00 p.m. from J.L. Johnson Stadium.

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