The Basics
Games 16-17
Oral Roberts (10-5) at Central Arkansas (5-9) | Oral Roberts (10-5) at Little Rock (10-4)
Dates: March 15-16
Location: Conway, Ark. (Bear Stadium) | Little Rock, Ark. (Gary Hogan Field
Watch: ESPN+ | Listen: ORU Sports Network | Live Stats: SIDEARM Live Stats | StatBroadcast

CONWAY, Ark. – The Oral Roberts baseball team concludes their six-game road trip March 15-16 with two-midweek contests against Central Arkansas and Little Rock. First pitch against the Bears is set for 6 p.m. on Tuesday followed by a 3 p.m. start on Wednesday against the Trojans.

Important Links
ORU Game Notes
Summit League Notes

Inside the Series (Central Arkansas)
• Tuesday's contest marks the 15th meeting all-time between the Golden Eagles and Bears. This will be the first meeting between the two squads since March 19, 2019.

• All-time, ORU owns a 10-4 mark against Central Arkansas, including a 2-2 record in Conway, Arkansas. 

• Head Coach Ryan Folmar is 6-4 in his career against the Bears.
 
Inside the Series (Little Rock)
• The Golden Eagles and Trojans meet for the 26th time in their series history Wednesday afternoon. The two sides split last season's two-game set in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

• ORU holds a 19-6 edge all-time in the series, including a 5-3 mark in Little Rock, Arkansas. The Golden Eagles are making their first trip to Little Rock since May 7, 2019. ORU dropped that contest 6-5 in 10 innings.

• Folmar is 13-4 all-time in his career against the Trojans.

Quick Hits     
• ORU snapped their three-game skid with an 8-4 victory over No. 2 Ole Miss in the series finale Sunday afternoon in Oxford, Mississippi. The victory was the Golden Eagles' first over a Top-2 team in program history. 

• Jackson Loftin launched a three-run home run and Alec Jones delivered the go-ahead homer in the victory. Mac McCroskey and Dustin Demeter added insurance in the sixth with a two-run double and an RBI double, respectively.

• AJ Archambo picked up the win on the mound to improve to 3-0 on the year, while Cade Denton and Evan Kowalski tossed scoreless frames to nail down the win.  

• In the Summit League, ORU's offense ranks first in batting average (.315), runs (115), hits (162), doubles (30), triples (8), home runs (12), RBIs (112), slugging percentage (.475) and on-base percentage (.408). On the mound, the Golden Eagles lead the conference in strikeouts with 124.

• McCroskey continues to lead the conference in average (.424) and hits (25). Loftin tops the league in home runs (4) and slugging percentage (.731). The redshirt junior is also tied with Caleb Denny for the league lead in RBIs with 16. Justin Quinn ranks first in the Summit League with three triples and fifth nationally.  
 
• Nationally, ORU ranks 10th in triples (8), 14th in triples per game (0.53) and 26th in batting average (.315).

• ORU was selected as the unanimous favorite to retain their regular-season crown in the 2022 Summit League Preseason Coaches' poll, garnering 36 points and all six of the possible first-place votes they could attain.

• Isaac Coffey earned plenty of preseason accolades as the junior was selected as the Summit League Preseason Pitcher of the Year by both D1 Baseball and Perfect Game USA. The Goleta, California, native also garnered Preseason All-American honors from the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association and Collegiate Baseball. Joshua Cox was selected as the Summit League Player of the Year by both D1 Baseball and Perfect Game USA. Brooks Fowler garnered Preseason Summit League Freshman of the Year honors from D1 Baseball.

Scouting the Opponent (Central Arkansas)
• Central Arkansas is coming off a 13-10 victory over UT Martin on Sunday but have lost three of their last four contests. 

•  Offensively, the Bears are led by AJ Pearson (.316 batting average), Connor Emmet (three homers) and Trey Harris (nine RBIs).

• Central Arkansas is entering a new era as long time associate head coach Nick Harlan is in his first season at the helm.

• In the ASUN Preseason Coaches' poll, the Bears were picked eighth. Sophomore right-hander, Tyler Cleveland, was named to the preseason All-ASUN Baseball team. 

Scouting the Opponent (Little Rock)
• The Trojans enter Wednesday's contest fresh off a four-game sweep of North Alabama over the weekend. Little Rock has won all 10 of their contests this season at home.

• Jorden Hussein (.404 batting average) and Noah Dickerson (five homers and 18 RBIs) lead the way offensively for the Trojans.

• Little Rock is led by Head Coach Chris Curry, who is in his eighth season with the Trojans. Curry owns a 160-192 record at the helm of Little Rock.

• In the Sun Belt Preseason Coaches' poll, Little Rock was selected eighth. Pitcher Hayden Arnold, the reigning Sun Belt Pitcher of the Year was named to the preseason All-Sun Belt squad. 

For the latest information on ORU Baseball, follow the Golden Eagles on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, or go to www.ORUAthletics.com. Fans can also receive updates on the team by downloading the ORU Athletics app from the App Store or Google Play Store.