The Basics
Score: Oral Roberts 13 – Western Illinois 3
Records: ORU (20-9, 6-0), Western Illinois (3-20, 0-3)
Location: Tulsa, Okla. (J.L. Johnson Stadium)
Win: Joshua Caravalho (4-1) | Loss: Jack Bell (0-2)
 
TULSA, Okla. – Behind a Blaze Brothers two-run homer in the eighth, the Oral Roberts baseball team walked off Western Illinois, 13-3, in run-rule fashion Sunday afternoon from J.L. Johnson Stadium. With the win, ORU is off to a 6-0 start in Summit League play for the first time since 2017 and has won five consecutive contests.

Joshua Caravalho, who made his first weekend start of the season, picked up his fourth win of the year after tossing five innings of two-run baseball. In relief, Jacob Widener threw a scoreless frame, while Cade Denton struck out four in two innings.

On the offensive side, Dalton Patten and Matt Hogan each drove in a game-best three RBI to lead the charge on the afternoon. Brothers, Jacob Godman and Drew Stahl each recorded a multi-hit performance in the win.

For the fourth straight contest, ORU jumped on top, 1-0, in the opening frame as Stahl plated Jonah Cox, who reached on a walk, with an RBI single.

In the third, Cox crossed the plate once again as the junior swiped third and then scored on a Leatherneck throwing error. Later in the frame, Patten, who made his first career start as a Golden Eagle, launched a three-run homer down the left-field line to increase ORU's advantage to 5-0.

Western Illinois got a pair of runs back in the fourth courtesy of a two-run double down the left-field line as the lead was trimmed to 5-2.

The Golden Eagles responded in the bottom half of the frame as an RBI single from Mac McCroskey stretched the advantage to 6-2. After a Cox single and a wild pitch advanced McCroskey to third, Hogan scored the redshirt senior on a sacrifice fly to center.

ORU kept it rolling offensively in the fifth as a solo homer off the bat of Godman extended the lead to 8-2. For Godman, the homer was his second of the 2023 campaign. Later in the inning, Hogan drove home two more runs with a double down the left-field line as the Golden Eagles led 10-2.

A two-out RBI single in the seventh from the Leathernecks accounted for their final run of the afternoon as they cut the advantage to 10-3. In the bottom half of the frame, Stahl got the run back for ORU with an RBI double down the left-field line.

An inning later, Brothers walked it off for the Golden Eagles with a two-run blast down the left-field line as ORU run-ruled Western Illinois, 13-3.

Inside the Box Score
- ORU tallied 13 runs on 11 hits in the win.
- The Golden Eagles drew 10 walks, led by a season-high three from Hogan.
- Hogan and Patten each drove in a game-best three runs.
- Brothers, Godman and Stahl recorded two hits apiece to lead all players.
- Cox swiped his fifth base of the weekend in the third.
- Brothers and Hogan each registered a stolen base.
- As a staff, ORU struck out seven.

Notes
- Sunday's finale marked the 108th meeting all-time between the two clubs.
- With the win, ORU is now 90-18 all-time against Western Illinois.
- At J.L. Johnson, the Golden Eagles are 53-5 against the Leathernecks.
- With the victory, ORU is off to its best start (6-0) in League play since 2017.
- The series sweep was the Golden Eagles' third of the season.
- Cox has now registered a hit in 28 of the 29 games this year and extended his hit streak to 13 games.
- Hogan's multi-RBI game was the redshirt senior's team-leading 12th of the season.
- Breeze stretched his on-base streak to 16 consecutive games.
- McMurray made his 111th consecutive start and pushed his on-base streak to 12 games.

Up Next
ORU remains home at J.L. Johnson Stadium as they welcome the 2022 National Runner-Up, Oklahoma Sooners, on Tuesday at 6 p.m.

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.

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