The Basics
Score: No. 16 Oral Roberts 9 – Southern Indiana 2
Records: No. 16 ORU (39-11), Southern Indiana (15-34)
Location: Tulsa, Okla. (J.L. Johnson Stadium)
Win: Harley Gollert (8-1) | Loss: Blake Ciuffetelli (2-1)
 
TULSA, Okla. – The No. 16 Oral Roberts baseball team registered its 11th straight win with a 9-2 victory over Southern Indiana Saturday afternoon from J.L. Johnson Stadium. With the win, the Golden Eagles secured their ninth consecutive series. 

It was Graduation Day at J.L. Johnson as ORU recognized its 11 graduates; Preston Baumgartner, Holden Breeze, Conner Floyd, Jacob Godman, Evan Kowalski, Mac McCroskey, Jake McMurray, Justin Quinn, Andrew Roach, Drew Stahl and Jacob Widener, prior to the game. 

Harley Gollert recorded his League-leading eighth win of the season after tossing 5.2 shutout innings to go along with five strikeouts. In relief, Dalton Patten threw 1.1 scoreless frames and Widener struck out four in two innings. 

On the offensive end, Jonah Cox extended his hitting streak to 34 games and was one of seven Golden Eagles to record a multi-hit performance. The junior also tallied two RBI, matching McCroskey, McMurray and Quinn for the team lead. 

Quinn opened the scoring in the first with a two-run homer into the ORU bullpen in right. The long ball marked the seventh of the season for the senior and the second in as many games.

McCroskey plated his first run of the day in the third as the redshirt senior scored Cox with a sacrifice fly to left as the Golden Eagle advantage increased to 3-0. 

Following a Quinn single in the fifth, Cox belted his ninth home run of the season to left-center to push the ORU lead to 5-0. The long ball traveled 446 feet with an exit velocity of 107 mph. 

The ensuing batter, Matt Hogan, recorded his third triple of the season to left-center and later scored on a McCroskey RBI single to extend the lead to 6-0. 

In the sixth, McMurray stretched the Golden Eagle advantage to 8-0 with a two-run single up the middle. 

The Screaming Eagles broke through on the scoreboard in the eighth with a two-run homer down the right-field line, trimming the lead to 8-2. 

Garrett Casey got one of the runs back for ORU in the bottom half of the frame as the junior plated Breeze, who reached on a double, with an RBI single to left. In the ninth, Widener worked around a pair of walks to finish off the 9-2 victory.

Inside the Box Score
- ORU totaled nine runs on 16 hits in the win.
- Breeze, Brothers, Casey, Cox, Hogan, McMurray and Quinn each recorded multi-hit performances. 
- Hogan led all players with three hits in the win.
- Cox, McCroskey, McMurray and Quinn each registered two RBI on the day.
- Brothers logged his League-best 17th double of the season.
- McCroskey swiped his 14th base of the year in the win. 
- As a staff, ORU struck out 12 Screaming Eagles. 
- Gollert tossed 5.2 shutout innings and struck out five.
- Patten registered three punchouts in 1.1 innings of work.
- Widener struck out four in two innings on the bump.

Notes
- The weekend set marks the first meeting all-time between the two clubs. 
- ORU has won 11 straight games and 29 of its last 32 contests.
- The win streak marks the longest for the Golden Eagles since 2008.
- At J.L. Johnson Stadium, ORU has recorded nine straight victories. 
- Cox pushed his hit streak to 34 games and has recorded a hit in 49 of the 50 contests this season.
- The junior also registered his team-best 28th multi-hit performance of the season.
- McMurray, who made his 132nd consecutive start, stretched his hitting streak to 12 games.
- The senior also logged his 20th multi-hit performance of the year. 
- Hogan extended his on-base streak to 22 games.
- Breeze has now reached safely in 16 straight contests. 

Up Next
The Golden Eagles conclude their 2023 home slate tomorrow at 1 p.m. Following the game, ORU will recognize its nine seniors. 

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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