The Basics
Score: Oral Roberts 10 – South Dakota State 7
Records: ORU (15-9, 3-0), South Dakota State (6-15, 0-3)
Location: Tulsa, Okla. (J.L. Johnson Stadium)
Win: Colten Weber (1-1) | Loss: Bret Barnett (0-1) | Save: Kaleb McCullough (2)
 
TULSA, Okla. – Connor Beichler swiped a career-best three bases and drove in the go-ahead run as the Oral Roberts baseball team swept Summit League foe South Dakota State Sunday afternoon with a 10-7 victory at J.L. Johnson Stadium.

The victory marked the 1,200th at home all-time for the Golden Eagles. 

After a two-run homer by the Jackrabbits in the fourth tied the contest, 6-6, Beichler put ORU back in front for good in the fifth with an RBI fielder's choice that plated Joshua Cox.

On the mound, ORU struck out a season-high 16 batters led by a career-high five from Reed Ronan. Colten Weber picked up the win in relief, tossing 1.2 scoreless innings and striking out four. Kaleb McCullough registered his second save of the season after closing out the final two innings and striking out three.

Offensively, the Golden Eagles stole a season-high seven bases led by a combined five from Beichler and Cox. Mac McCroskey (3-5), Jake McMurray (2-4), Caleb Denny (2-4) and Cox (2-4) all registered multiple hits in the win.

McCroskey jumpstarted the ORU offense in the first as the redshirt junior reached on a one-out single and later came around to score courtesy of a wild pitch and throwing error by the catcher.

Later in the first, Tanner Lindsly, who made his first start of the 2022 campaign, put the Golden Eagles up 3-0 with a two-run double down the right-field line. Cox capped off the frame with a double to right-center that brought home Lindsly to extend the lead to 4-0.

The Jackrabbits answered in the top of the second with four runs on four hits to tie the game.

In the third, Beichler put ORU back in front, 5-4, with a sacrifice fly to center. Two batters later, McCroskey extended the Golden Eagle lead, 6-4, with an infield RBI single.

A two-run shot off the bat of Thatcher Kozal evened the score, 6-6, in the fourth before Beichler put ORU back on top in the fifth with an RBI fielder's choice.

Cox, who led off the inning with a bunt single, stole second and third to put himself in scoring position on the fielder's choice.

After Beichler swiped second and third, McMurray brought the redshirt sophomore home on an RBI groundout to make it 8-6, ORU. Caleb Denny pushed the lead to 9-6 with an RBI single that plated McCroskey, who reached on a single and then stole second.

South Dakota State got a run back in the seventh on an RBI double by Henry George, trimming the lead to 9-7.

McMurray made the final tally 10-7 with an RBI single in the bottom half of the frame.

Inside the Box Score
- Denny logged his team-best 12th multi-hit performance of the season in the win.
- McCroskey registered his team-leading fourth three-hit performance of the year.
- Beichler, Lindsly and McMurray all drove in two runs in the win.
- Gibson drew a team-high two walks.
- The Golden Eagles swiped a season-best seven bases in the victory, including five in the fifth.
- Beichler stole a career-high three bags in the win, while Cox matched his career-best with two.
- McCroskey took his third bag of the season in the fifth.
- Denny collected his sixth steal of the year.
- ORU struck out a season-high 16 batters in the win.
- Ronan totaled a career-high five over two innings of work.
- Weber struck out a season-high four batters in the victory.
- McCullough nailed down the save, striking out three over two scoreless innings.
- AJ Archambo got the start and allowed four runs over 1.2 innings of work.

Notes
- Sunday's victory marked the 1,200th home win in program history for the Golden Eagles.
- With the sweep, ORU now holds a 67-19 edge all-time against the Jackrabbits.
- Head Coach Ryan Folmar is now 39-11 in his career against SDSU.

Up Next
The Golden Eagles continue their 11-game homestand with a midweek matchup against Arkansas-Pine Bluff Tuesday, March 29. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. from J.L. Johnson Stadium.

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.