The Basics
Score: Oral Roberts 5 – South Dakota State 3
Records: ORU (30-11, 15-1), South Dakota State (18-18, 10-6)
Location: Tulsa, Okla. (J.L. Johnson Stadium)
Win: Jakob Hall (6-3) | Loss: Brady Hawkins (0-4) | Save: Cade Denton (10) 
 
TULSA, Okla. – Jake McMurray homered twice as the Oral Roberts baseball team claimed its series opener against Summit League foe South Dakota State, 5-3, Friday afternoon from J.L. Johnson Stadium. 

With the win, the Golden Eagles secured their 44th 30-win season in program history and eighth under head coach Ryan Folmar.

On the mound, Jakob Hall picked up his third straight win after allowing three runs over a career-high 7.2 innings of work. The sophomore also tallied six strikeouts on the day and carried a no-hitter into the sixth. In relief, Cade Denton notched his League-leading 10th save of the year after striking out three in 1.1 scoreless innings. 

Holden Breeze opened the scoring in the second as the redshirt junior plated Mac McCroskey, who reached on an error, with a sacrifice fly to right. 

An inning later, McMurray ripped his first home run of the 2023 campaign down the left-field line to stretch the Golden Eagle lead to 2-0. The solo shot marked the senior's 100th RBI of his career. Later in the frame, McCroskey pushed the ORU advantage to 3-0 with an RBI single through the left side. 

In the fifth, McMurray blasted his second homer of the game down the left-field line as the Golden Eagle lead grew to 4-0. The multi-homer game marked the first of the Tulsa, Oklahoma, native's career.

The Jackrabbits broke up the no-hitter in the sixth and pushed across three runs to trim the ORU advantage to 4-3.

Cox provided insurance for the Golden Eagles in the seventh as the junior stretched his hitting streak to 25 games with a solo home run to right-center. The long ball marked the Thornton, Colorado, native's seventh of the season and fourth in the last four games. 

Denton struck out three of the four batters he faced to slam the door shut as ORU went on to win 5-3.

Inside the Box Score
- ORU tallied five runs on six hits.
- McMurray led all players with a 2-for-3 performance at the dish.
- The senior belted his first two home runs of the season in the win.
- McMurray also swiped his first base of the year in the first.
- Matt Hogan drew a game-best two walks.
- Hall tossed a career-high 7.2 innings and struck out six.
- Denton notched his 10th save and registered three strikeouts in 1.1 scoreless frames.

Notes
- Friday's series opener marked the 91st meeting all-time between the two programs.
- With the win, ORU is now 71-20 all-time against the Jackrabbits and has won eight of the last nine meetings.
- In Tulsa, Okla., the Golden Eagles are 45-9 all-time against SDSU.
- With the victory, ORU recorded its 44th 30-win season in program history.
- Denton's save marked the 15th of the season for ORU, which is tied for seventh all-time in program history.
- McMurray recorded the 100th RBI of his career in the win.
- The multi-hit performance marked the 14th of the season for the Tulsa, Okla., native.
- The senior has now started in 123 consecutive contests for ORU.
- Cox extended his hitting streak to 25 games and has now recorded a hit in 40 of the 41 games this season.
- The junior has also homered four times in his last four contests.
- Hogan stretched his on-base streak to 15 consecutive games.

Up Next
Game two of the series is scheduled for tomorrow at 2 p.m.

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