The Basics
Games 51-53
Oral Roberts (33-17, 15-6) vs. South Dakota State (21-19, 12-7)
Dates: May 19-21
Location: Brookings, S.D. (Erv Huether Field)
Watch: Jackrabbits All-Access Listen: ORU Sports Network | Live Stats: StatBroadcast

BROOKINGS, S.D. – The Oral Roberts baseball team concludes their 2022 regular season with a three-game set at Summit League foe South Dakota State May 19-21 in Brookings, South Dakota. Thursday's series opener is slated for 3 p.m. followed by 1 p.m. starts on Friday and Saturday.

Important Links
ORU Game Notes
Opponent Notes
Summit League Notes

Inside the Series
• The three-game series marks the second meeting this season between ORU and the Jackrabbits. The Golden Eagles swept the first meeting between the two clubs back on March 25-27 in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

• In the series history, ORU holds a 67-19 edge all-time against the Jackrabbits.

• Head Coach Ryan Folmar is 39-11 in his career against South Dakota State.

Quick Hits     
• ORU enters the series winners of seven of their last 10 contests and is 11-2 in their last 13 road contests. 

• Despite a career-high five RBIs from Holden Breeze, the Golden Eagles dropped their final midweek contest of the season Tuesday night at Nebraska, 9-5.

• ORU enters the final weekend set of the season ranked second in Summit League play, trailing North Dakota State by percentage points. If the Golden Eagles win out and the Bison drop two of their final three contests, ORU will clinch its' 20th Summit League regular season title.

• In the Summit League, ORU's offense ranks first in batting average (.298), runs (368), hits (521), doubles (103), triples (17), RBIs (326), slugging percentage (.440), walks (234), on-base percentage (.386) and sacrifice flies (28). On the mound, the Golden Eagles rank first in ERA (3.94), strikeouts (454) and batting average against (.242).

• Nationally, ORU enters the weekend ranked 12th in WHIP (1.25), 12th in walks allowed per nine innings (3.12), 12th in shutouts (5), 13th in fielding percentage (.980), 14th in strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.01), 20th in sac flies (28), 22nd in ERA (3.94), 26th in hits allowed per nine innings (8.13), 29th in triples (17), 34th in triples per game (.34), 41st in WL pct. (.660), 42nd in batting average (.298) and 45th in hits (521).

• In the Summit League, AJ Archambo leads the conference in batting average with a .387 mark. Caleb Denny sits atop the league leaderboard in runs (54), hits (68) and RBIs (51). Jackson Loftin ranks inside the top 5 in seven different statistical categories.

• On the bump, Ledgend Smith ranks second in ERA (1.70), opposing batting average (.210) and strikeouts (82). The redshirt senior also ranks ninth nationally in ERA and 34th in WHIP (1.00). Isaac Coffey leads the league in opposing batting average (.209) and walks allowed (11). The junior also sits eighth nationally in complete games (8) and 18th in WHIP (0.93).

• The Golden Eagles will throw RHP Andrew Roach Thursday, followed by RHP Coffey Saturday and RHP Evan Kowalski Sunday.

• 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
• South Dakota State enters the three-game set on a four-game win streak and are 8-2 in their last 10 contests. The Jackrabbits are coming off a three-game sweep of St. Thomas last weekend.

• Ryan McDonald and Luke Ira lead the charge offensively for South Dakota State. McDonald ranks first on the team in batting average (.317) and RBIs (32), while Ira has launched a team-best 10 homers.

• The Jackrabbits will throw RHP Nic McCay, LHP Cody Carlson and RHP Owen Bishop in the three-game set.

• In the 2022 Summit League Preseason Coaches' poll, South Dakota State was selected to finish fourth. The Jackrabbits are led by Head Coach Rob Bishop in his sixth season.

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