The Basics
Games 14-16
Oral Roberts (9-4) at Dallas Baptist (8-5)
Dates: March 10-12
Location: Horner Ballpark (Dallas,Texas)
Watch: Patriot Broadcast Network | Radio: ORU Sports Network | Live Stats: GM 1 | GM 2 | GM 3

TULSA, Okla. – The Oral Roberts baseball team continues its six-game road trip with a weekend series at Dallas Baptist starting Friday night at 6:30 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 Patriot Broadcast Network, while an audio broadcast will be available on the ORU Sports Network. Fans can also follow along with the game on ORU's Twitter, @ORUBaseball.

Important Links
ORU Game Notes
Summit League Notes

Inside the Series
• The Golden Eagles and Patriots meet for the 59th time in Friday's series opener.

• ORU trails the all-time series, 21-37, but took two of three in the two clubs' last meeting in Dallas, Texas, back in 2021.

• The weekend set marks the second of the year for the Golden Eagles against a 2022 NCAA Regional qualifier.

Quick Hits  
• Behind a strong start from Joshua Caravalho, ORU claimed Tuesday's midweek contest at Wichita State, 6-5. The right-hander struck out five over five scoreless frames to register his second straight victory.
 
• At the plate, Drew Stahl continued his power surge as the junior blasted his fourth homer in the last six games. The Phoenix, Arizona, native has also registered multi-hit performances in five of the last six contests.
 
• The Golden Eagles will send RHP Jakob Hall, LHP Harley Gollert and RHP Brooks Fowler to the mound this weekend. Through three turns in the rotation, the trio holds a healthy 3.25 ERA.
 
• On Monday, Fowler was tabbed as the TicketSmarter Summit League Pitcher of the Week after tossing seven innings of one-run baseball in his last start. With the award, ORU has claimed all three of the League's Peak Pitcher of the Week honors this season.
 
• Entering the weekend, the Golden Eagle offense leads the Summit League in runs (86), hits (136), doubles (25), triples (4), home runs (18), RBIs (79) and total bases (223). On the mound, ORU tops the conference in ERA (3.75), WHIP (1.18), saves (5), innings pitched (120.0), hits allowed per nine innings (6.9), strikeouts (134) and batting average against (.219). Defensively, the Golden Eagles top the League in putouts (360), assists (130), double plays (13) and fielding percentage (.986).

• Nationally, ORU ranks ninth in double plays, 13th in fielding percentage, 19th in WHIP and 20th in hits allowed per nine innings.

• Matt Hogan continues to lead the Summit League in homers with five, while Stahl sits atop the conference in RBIs with 17. Jonah Cox tops the League in hits (22) and stolen bases (6).

• On the mound, Fowler ranks first in the League in ERA (1.80), hits allowed per nine innings (4.8) and WHIP (0.93). Fowler is also tied for the conference lead in wins (2) with Gollert and Caravalho.

• 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, junior right-hander Cade 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.

• 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 328-214 (.605) overall record.  

Scouting the Opponent
• Dallas Baptist enters the weekend with an 8-5 mark after defeating Grambling State, 13-3, in midweek action.

•  The Patriots will turn to RHP Braxton Bragg, RHP Ryan Johnson and LHP Bryson Hammer on the bump this weekend. The trio owns a 2.96 ERA through three turns in the rotation.
 
•  Kodie Kolden leads the offensive attack as the fifth-year senior holds a .436/.500/.667 slash line to go along with a homer and 11 RBIs.
 
•  In the Conference USA Preseason Coaches' Poll, the Patriots were picked to finish second.

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.