The Basics
Games 31-33
Oral Roberts (18-12, 4-2) at Western Illinois (4-25, 2-7)
Dates: April 15-16
Location: Macomb, Ill. (Alfred D. Boyer Stadium)
Watch: Twitter | Listen: ORU Sports Network | Live Stats: Sidearm Stats

MACOMB, Ill. – The Oral Roberts baseball team returns to Summit League action April 15-16 as they continue their six-game road trip with a three-game set against Western Illinois.

First pitch for Friday's series opener from Alfred D. Boyer Stadium is slated for 3 p.m., followed by a noon start to Saturday's doubleheader.

Important Links
ORU Game Notes
Summit League Notes

Inside the Series
• Friday's series opener marks the 103rd meeting all-time between the Leathernecks and Golden Eagles. ORU took six of eight last season from Western Illinois and is riding a three-game win streak in the series. 

• All-time, the Golden Eagles are 84-18 against the Leathernecks and have won seven of the last 10 contests. On the road in Macomb, Illinois, ORU is 32-15. 

• Head Coach Ryan Folmar, who enters the weekend series with 299 career wins, is 27-11 all-time against Western Illinois.

Quick Hits     
• ORU rallied from a five-run deficit to snap their two-game skid Tuesday evening, edging Missouri State, 9-8, in midweek action at Hammons Field in Springfield, Missouri.

• Jake McMurray delivered the go-ahead two-run single in the ninth and finished the night 3-for-5 at the dish. The victory gave ORU the season sweep of the Bears. 

• In the win, Jackson Loftin launched his team-leading sixth home run of the year, while Dustin Demeter returned to action and drove home two runs. On the mound, Cade Denton picked up the win after tossing two scoreless frames and striking out four. 

• In the Summit League, ORU's offense ranks first in batting average (.284), runs (209), hits (290), doubles (57), triples (13), RBIs (198) and walks (153). On the mound, the Golden Eagles lead the conference in strikeouts (281).

• Nationally, ORU enters the weekend ranked 12th in triples per game (0.43), 13th in fielding percentage (.980), 14th in triples, 27th in strikeout-to-walk ratio (2.90), 28th in walks allowed per nine innings (3.36) and 33rd in WHIP (1.29).

• Caleb Denny continues to sit atop the Summit League in RBIs with 33. Justin Quinn leads the league with three triples, followed by Denny, Loftin and Mac McCroskey with two. Loftin is tied atop the leaderboard in runs scored with 31.

• On the mound, Ledgend Smith ranks first in wins with four, while Isaac Coffey leads the league in walks allowed with eight.

• RHP Evan Kowalski will make his second start of the season on Friday, followed by LHP Smith and RHP Coffey Saturday.

• 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.

• 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
• The Leathernecks dropped their midweek contest on the road at Missouri, 9-1, and are 2-8 in their last 10 contests. Friday's series opener marks only the fifth home game of the season for Western Illinois as they are 1-3 this season in Macomb.

• Nick Mitchell leads the way offensively for the Leathernecks as the freshman outfielder is hitting .347 with 19 RBIs, both of which lead the team.

• LHP Jace Warkentien, RHP Chandler Fochs and LHP Brian Raymond will take the mound for Western Illinois in the series.

• In the 2022 Summit League Preseason Coaches' poll, Western Illinois was picked to finish sixth. 

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.