The Basics
Score: Oral Roberts 9 – South Dakota State 4
Records: ORU (36-18), South Dakota State (22-22)
Location: Tulsa, Okla. (J.L. Johnson Stadium)
Win: Isaac Coffey (7-5) | Loss: Nick McCay (4-4) 
 
TULSA, Okla. – Jake McMurray set the tone with a leadoff homer and the Oral Roberts baseball team defeated South Dakota State, 9-4, in the opening round of the Summit League Championship Thursday night at J.L. Johnson Stadium.
 
In the Summit League Championship, the Golden Eagles are now 67-7 all-time and 22-0 in first-round games.
 
Isaac Coffey picked up the win to improve to 7-5 on the year. The junior allowed four runs, three earned, over seven innings of work and matched a season-high for strikeouts with nine. In relief, Brooks Fowler registered a season-best six punchouts in two scoreless innings.
 
McMurray opened the scoring with a solo blast to left field in the bottom of the first, marking his second leadoff homer of the year. The Tulsa, Oklahoma, native has now homered in three of his last six contests.
 
An RBI single off the bat of Justin Quinn extended the ORU lead to 2-0 in the first. The junior later came around to score on a wild pitch as the Golden Eagles led 3-0 after one inning of play.
 
Denny pushed the advantage to 4-0 in the second with an RBI single to left. Jackson Loftin brought home two more runs in the frame as the redshirt junior dropped a double down the right-field line.
 
A three-run homer off the bat of Nic Nelson trimmed the ORU lead in half, 6-3, in the fourth.
 
In the fifth, a balk plated Quinn to make the score 7-3 in favor of the Golden Eagles. Joshua Cox later added to the lead, 8-3, with a sacrifice fly, which scored Holden Breeze.
 
The Jackrabbits got a run back in the sixth, cutting the ORU advantage to 8-4.
 
In the seventh, Loftin stole third and came home to score on a throwing error by the catcher to make the final tally 9-4 in favor of the Golden Eagles.

 
Inside the Box Score
- Breeze, Denny, Loftin and McMurray all registered two hits apiece in the win.
- Loftin drove in a team-best two runs and swiped a game-high two bases.
- The Houston, Texas, native now has 25 steals on the year, the most by a Golden Eagle since 2005.
- McMurray launched his fourth homer of the year and third in the last six games.
-  The junior's leadoff homer was his second of the year.
- Denny extended his on-base streak to 24 games and has now hit safely in 10 straight contests.
- The redshirt sophomore also registered the 100th RBI of his career in the second.
- Coffey matched his season-high for strikeouts with nine.
- Fowler struck out a season-best six batters in two scoreless innings.

Notes
- With the win, ORU is now 67-7 in Summit League Championship games.
- In opening-round games, the Golden Eagles are now 22-0.
- Against SDSU, ORU is now 70-20 all-time and 44-8 at J.L. Johnson Stadium.
- Head Coach Ryan Folmar is now 42-12 against the Jackrabbits.
- Caleb Denny drove in the 100th RBI of his career in the victory.

Up Next
The Golden Eagles will play for a spot in the championship tomorrow against No. 4 Omaha. First pitch is at 6:05 p.m.

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