The Basics
Games 27-29
Oral Roberts (17-9) vs Western Illinois (3-17)
Dates: March 31-April 2
Location: J.L. Johnson Stadium (Tulsa, Okla.)
Watch: ORU Sports Network | Live Stats: Sidearm Stats

TULSA, Okla. – The Oral Roberts baseball team returns home to J.L. Johnson Stadium for a three-game set against Summit League foe Western Illinois starting Friday night at 6 p.m. Game two of the series is slated for Saturday at 2 p.m., while Sunday's finale is scheduled for 1 p.m.

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.

Promo Schedule
Friday - Postgame Movie/$1 Hot Dogs
Saturday - Youth Sports Day
Sunday - Teacher Appreciation Day/Kids Run the Bases/Postgame Easter Egg Hunt

Important Links
ORU Game Notes
Summit League Notes

Inside the Series
• Friday's series opener marks the 106th meeting all-time between the two clubs.

• ORU holds an 87-18 advantage in the series and has won six straight against the Leathernecks.

• At J.L. Johnson Stadium, the Golden Eagles are 50-5 against Western Illinois.

Quick Hits  
• The Golden Eagles have won seven of their last eight contests and are off to their best start since the 2018 season (17-9).

• In midweek action, ORU picked up its first shutout of the season after blanking Missouri State, 4-0, Tuesday night.

• Jacob Widener earned the win after tossing four shutout innings and striking out seven. In relief, Hudson Hart, Andrew Roach, Evan Kowalski, Dalton Patten and Cade Denton each tossed a scoreless inning. As a staff, the Golden Eagles struck out 14 batters.

• ORU will send RHP Jakob Hall, LHP Harley Gollert and RHP Joshua Caravalho to the mound this weekend. For Caravalho, the weekend start will be his first of the season.

• Entering the weekend, the Golden Eagle offense leads the Summit League in batting average (.307), runs (183), hits (282), home runs (33), triples (10), RBIs (167), on-base percentage (.386), slugging percentage (.486), stolen bases (42), total bases (447) and walks (103). On the mound, ORU tops the conference in ERA (4.03), batting average against (.233), WHIP (1.26), saves (9), innings pitched (230.0), hits allowed per nine innings (7.6), strikeouts-to-walk ratio (2.5) and strikeouts (238). Defensively, the Golden Eagles top the League in putouts (690), assists (247), double plays (26) and fielding percentage (.987).

• Nationally, ORU ranks third in fielding percentage, fifth in double plays, ninth in hits, 15th in triples, 18th in WHIP, 19th in hits allowed per nine innings (7.5) and 32nd in ERA.

• Matt Hogan continues to lead the League in homers (8), sacrifice flies (4) and RBI (34). Nationally, the redshirt senior sits 12th in sac flies and 22nd in RBI

• Jonah Cox enters the weekend ranked second nationally in hits (47), third in triples (5), 12th in hits per game (1.8) and 21st in batting average (.431).

• On the mound, Brooks Fowler continues to top the League in ERA (2.73), while Gollert, Hall and Caravalho leads the conference in wins (3).

• At the national level, Hall ranks fifth in strikeout-to-walk ratio (14.0) and sixth in walks allowed per nine innings (0.75). The sophomore also leads the League in strikeouts (42).

• 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. Through 12 appearances this season, Denton has recorded a 1.13 ERA and five saves, which ranks 16th nationally.

• 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. 

• Since 2001, ORU has made 17 NCAA Regional appearances, which rank as the most among Oklahoma schools.

• Head Coach Ryan Folmar enters his 11th season at the helm of the Golden Eagles and has compiled a 336-219 (.605) overall record.  

Scouting the Opponent
• The Leathernecks enter the weekend on a six-game losing streak and are 3-17 on the season.

• Offensively, Nick Mitchell leads the way for Western Illinois as the sophomore is hitting .432 with three homers and 18 RBI.

• RHP Eric Cunning, RHP Jake Armstrong and LHP Tyler Kapraun will take the mound for the Leathernecks this weekend.

• In the Summit League Preseason Coaches' Poll, Western Illinois was picked to finish seventh.

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.