The Basics
Game 54
Oral Roberts (35-18, 17-7) vs. South Dakota State (22-21, 13-9)
Date: May 25
Location: Tulsa, Okla. (J.L. Johnson Stadium)
Watch: Midco Sports Plus ($) Listen: ORU Sports Network | Live Stats: Sidearm Stats

TULSA, Okla. – The Oral Roberts baseball team begins the hunt for their 20th Summit League Championship Wednesday night as they face off against South Dakota State in the opening round at J.L. Johnson Stadium. First pitch is slated for 6:05 p.m.

Fans may visit www.mabeecenter.com to purchase tickets.

Important Links
ORU Game Notes
Summit League Notes

Inside the Series
• The Golden Eagles and Jackrabbits meet for the second time in the last four days as ORU took two of the three on the road against SDSU over the weekend. The last time the two squads met in Tulsa, Okla., was back on March 25-27, resulting in a series sweep for the Golden Eagles.

• Last season, the two sides also met in the opening round of the Summit League Championship. ORU won the game by a score of 7-1.

• All-time, ORU owns a 69-20 edge in the series and have won 13 of the last 16 matchups. At J.L. Johnson Stadium, the Golden Eagles are 43-18 against the Jackrabbits.

• Head Coach Ryan Folmar is 41-12 in his career against SDSU.

Quick Hits     
• ORU owns a dominant 66-7 record in 21 appearances at the Summit League Championship but has not won a title since 2018. The Golden Eagles enter this year's bracket as the No. 2 seed, marking only the third time in program history that ORU is not the No. 1 seed.

• In 2010, the Golden Eagles won the Summit League Championship as the No. 2 seed. It was the only other time ORU served as the No. 2 seed.

• ORU claimed a Summit League-best nine All-League honors as voted on by the league's seven head coaches Tuesday. Jake McMurray (1B), Jackson Loftin (SS), Caleb Denny (OF), Joshua Cox (OF), AJ Archambo (UT), Ledgend Smith (SP) and Isaac Coffey (SP) earned first team honors, while Holden Breeze (3B) and Cade Denton (SP) garnered second team recognition.

• Smith earned Summit League Pitcher of the Year honors, becoming the second straight and 18th overall ORU hurler since 1998 to win the award.

• In the Summit League, ORU's offense closed the regular season ranked first in batting average (.300), runs (396), hits (559), doubles (111), triples (17), RBIs (349), slugging percentage (.447), walks (246), on-base percentage (.387) and sacrifice flies (29). On the mound, the Golden Eagles ranked first in ERA (4.09), strikeouts (484) and batting average against (.243).

• Nationally, ORU concluded the regular season ranked 13th in shutouts (5), 13th in WHIP (1.26), 14th in walks allowed per nine innings (3.18), 14th in strikeout-to-walk ratio (2.97), 23rd in sacrifice flies (29), 23rd in fielding percentage (.978), 28th in ERA (4.09), 29th in hits allowed per nine innings (8.20), 34th in triples (17) and 36th in batting average (.300). 

• In the Summit League, Denny finished the season as the conference leader in runs (57), hits (73) and RBIs (54). Loftin concluded the regular season ranked inside the top 5 in 11 different statistical categories.

• On the bump, Smith led the league in ERA (1.70), wins (7), batting average against (.201), runs allowed (20) and earned runs allowed (14). Nationally, smith ranked eighth in ERA, 25th in WHIP (0.97) and 64th in strikeouts (89).

• Coffey led the league in walks allowed with 12. Nationally, Coffey ranked ninth in complete games (3) and 19th in WHIP (0.96). The junior will take the bump in the opening game for ORU. 

Scouting the Opponent
• South Dakota State is making its eighth straight appearance in the Summit League Championship, the longest such streak in the field. Overall, the Jackrabbits are 20-19 in the tournament and have one championship.

• Ryan McDonald and Luke Ira lead the charge offensively for South Dakota State. McDonald and Ira have combined to hit 20 homers and drive in 66 runs for the Jackrabbits this season.

• 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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