The Basics
Games 10-12
Oral Roberts (7-2) vs Stephen F. Austin (3-6)
Dates: March 3-5
Location: J.L. Johnson Stadium (Tulsa, Okla.)
Watch: ORU Sports Network | Live Stats: Sidearm Stats

TULSA, Okla. – Riding a three-game win streak, the Oral Roberts baseball team welcomes Stephen F. Austin to J.L. Johnson Stadium for a three-game set starting Friday afternoon at 3 p.m. Game two of the series is slated for Saturday at 2 p.m. followed by a 1 p.m. start on Sunday.

All three contests will be streamed on the ORU Sports Network and fans can also follow along with the game on ORU's Twitter, @ORUBaseball. For tickets, fans can visit www.mabeecenter.com.

Important Links
ORU Game Notes
Summit League Notes

Inside the Series
• Friday's series opener marks the 11th meeting all-time and the first since 2014 between the two clubs.

• ORU holds a 7-3 edge in the all-time series and has won three straight. At J.L. Johnson Stadium, the Golden Eagles are 3-0 against the Lumberjacks.

• The two sides are meeting in Tulsa, Oklahoma, for the first time since 1989.

Quick Hits     
• The Golden Eagles enter the series riding a three-game win streak and have won both weekend sets this season.

• In midweek action, ORU held off a late rally from Tarleton to pick up a 6-5 win. Joshua Caravalho tossed 5.2 innings of one-hit baseball and Blaze Brothers blasted a two-run home run to lead the Golden Eagles in the victory. 

• ORU will send RHP Jakob Hall to the mound in Friday's series opener followed by LHP Harley Gollert on Saturday and RHP Brooks Fowler on Sunday. The three Golden Eagle hurlers have combined for a 2.90 ERA through two starts this season.

• After making three scoreless appearances a week ago, junior right-hander Cade Denton was named the TicketSmarter Summit League Baseball Peak Pitcher of the Week on Monday. The Rowlett, Texas, native struck out seven over four innings of work and registered a save in Saturday's 6-3 win at Texas State.

• Entering the week, the Golden Eagle offense leads the Summit League in runs (60), hits (88), doubles (19), triples (3), home runs (13), RBIs (55), total bases (152), slugging percentage (.492) and on-base percentage (.367). On the mound, ORU tops the conference in ERA (3.00), WHIP (1.05), saves (3), innings pitched (81.0), hits allowed per nine innings (6.1), strikeouts (90), strikeouts per nine innings (3.0) and batting average against (.199). Defensively, the Golden Eagles top the League in putouts (243), assists (92) and double plays (11).

• Nationally, ORU ranks third in double plays, eighth in hits allowed per nine innings, 10th in WHIP, 10th in fielding percentage (.991) and 20th in ERA.

•  Matt Hogan continues to lead the Summit League in homers (4) and RBIs (13), while Jonah Cox tops the conference in doubles with five, which ranks 14th nationally.

• On the mound, Hall and Jacob Widener continue to pace the League in strikeouts with 14 each. Gollert enters the weekend ranked sixth nationally in wins with two, which also leads the conference.

• The Golden Eagles are coming off their 20th Summit League Tournament Championship and 29th NCAA Regional appearance after finishing with a 38-20 record in 2022. ORU returns 15 players from last year's NCAA Regional squad and welcomed 17 newcomers in the offseason.

• After an electric 2022 season out of the bullpen, Denton received Preseason First Team All-American honors from the National Collegiate Baseball Writer's Association (NCBWA) and was tabbed the Preseason Summit League Pitcher of the Year by D1 Baseball and Perfect Game USA. The Rowlett, Texas, native was also named to the Preseason Watch List for the NCBWA Stopper of the Year Award, given to the top relief pitcher in NCAA Division I Baseball. Entering the week, the junior has not allowed an earned run over his last 40.1 innings.

• In the 2023 Summit League Preseason Coaches' Poll, ORU was selected as the unanimous favorite to claim the regular season crown. The Golden Eagles received 42 points and earned all six first-place votes they could. Redshirt senior Mac McCroskey and Denton were named the Preseason Player and Pitcher to Watch for ORU as voted on by the league's seven head coaches. Senior Jake McMurray and Denton garnered Preseason All-Summit League honors from Perfect Game USA.

• Entering the 2023 season, ORU ranks sixth all-time in NCAA history with a .652 winning percentage. 

• Head Coach Ryan Folmar enters his 11th season at the helm of the Golden Eagles and has compiled a 326-212 (.606) overall record.  

Scouting the Opponent
• SFA enters the weekend with a 3-6 record after dropping their midweek to Northwestern State, 13-2. 

• Peyton Parker leads the offensive attack for the Lumberjacks as the junior holds a .463/.500/.707 slash line through nine games to go along with two homers and seven RBIs.

• On the mound, SFA will throw RHP Joe Richter on Friday, RHP Cade Stapleton on Saturday and RHP Conner Woods on Sunday. 

• In the Western Athletic Conference Preseason Poll, the Lumberjacks were picked to finish 13th.

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.