The Basics
Games 52-54
No. 12 Oral Roberts (40-11, 20-1) at Western Illinois (12-37, 8-13)
Dates: May 18-20
Location: Macomb, Ill. (Alfred D. Boyer Stadium)
Watch: Fighting Leathernecks All-Access | Behind the Mic: ORU Sports Network | Live Stats: Sidearm Stats

TULSA, Okla. – Winners of 12 in a row, the No. 12 Oral Roberts baseball team closes out its 2023 regular season schedule with a three-game set at Western Illinois starting Thursday at 3 p.m. from Alfred D. Boyer Stadium in Macomb, Illinois. Game two is slated for Friday at 1 p.m. followed by the series finale on Saturday at 1 p.m.

All three games will be streamed on the Fighting Leathernecks All-Access, 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 Notes
Summit League Notes

Inside the Series
• Thursday's series opener marks the 109th meeting all-time between the two clubs.

• The Golden Eagles swept the first meeting between the two sides earlier this season in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and are 90-18 all-time against the Leathernecks.

• ORU has won nine straight in the series and is 35-13 all-time in Macomb, Ill.

Quick Hits  
• The Golden Eagles enter the weekend riding their longest win streak (12) since 2008 and are 30-3 in their last 33 contests. 

• In this week's Collegiate Baseball poll, ORU climbed four spots to No. 12 in the rankings. The ranking marks the Golden Eagles' highest since 2004 and the fifth consecutive week they have appeared in the poll.

• ORU is coming off a sweep of Southern Indiana a weekend ago and clinched its 22nd 40-win season in program history on Sunday. The 40-win season marks the Golden Eagles' first since 2017. 

• ORU clinched its 20th Summit League regular season title and second in the last three seasons with a sweep of St. Thomas in early May. Since joining the Summit League in 1998, the Golden Eagles have won 20 of the 23 regular season titles. (ORU was a member of the Southland Conference from 2013-14)

• Jonah Cox continues to be one of the nation's premier hitters as the junior leads the nation with 91 hits and ranks inside the top five in hits per game (1.8), triples (7) and batting average (.438). The junior pushed his hit streak to 35 games in the weekend sweep and has recorded a hit in 50 of the 51 games this season. Cox was also a midseason addition to the Bobby Bragan National Collegiate Slugger Award Watch List. 

• The Golden Eagles will send RHP Jakob Hall, RHP Joshua Caravalho and RHP Brooks Fowler to the mound this weekend. The trio is a combined 19-5 on the season.

• Entering the weekend, the Golden Eagle offense leads the Summit League in batting average (.316), runs (412), hits (564), home runs (84), RBI (377), on-base percentage (.406), stolen bases (87), slugging percentage (.534), triples (17), total bases (953) and walks (237). On the mound, ORU tops the conference in ERA (3.85), batting average against (.238), WHIP (1.25), saves (18), innings pitched (449.0), hits allowed per nine innings (7.8), strikeouts-to-walk ratio (2.7), walks allowed per nine innings (3.4) and strikeouts (463). Defensively, the Golden Eagles top the League in putouts (1347), assists (464), double plays (41) and fielding percentage (.984).

• Nationally, ORU ranks third in fielding percentage, third in WL percentage (.784), fourth in WHIP, seventh in ERA, 11th in hits allowed per nine innings, 13th in hits, 13th in batting average, 15th in strikeout-to-walk ratio, 18th in slugging percentage, 18th in walks allowed per nine innings, 23rd in triples and 23rd in shutouts (3).  

• Outfielder Matt Hogan remains the League leader in RBI (59) and sac flies (6), while Blaze Brothers tops the conference in doubles (18). 

• On the mound, Fowler leads the League in ERA (2.83), while Hall ranks first in strikeouts (78), strikeout-to-walk ratio (7.8), WHIP (1.02) and walks allowed per nine innings (1.16). LHP Harley Gollert tops the conference in wins with eight.

• 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 returned 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, right-hander 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. Through 24 appearances this season, Denton has recorded a 1.57 ERA and 11 saves, which ranks sixth nationally.

• The ORU closer is on the NCBWA Stopper of the Year Midseason Watch List and ranks third among active players in Division I in career ERA with a 1.76 mark.

• 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. First baseman 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 is in his 11th season at the helm of the Golden Eagles and has compiled a 359-221 (.619) overall record. On Saturday, Folmar collected the 200th home win of his career.

Scouting the Opponent
• The Leathernecks enter the weekend with a 12-37 mark after dropping their midweek contest to Eastern Illinois, 9-3, Tuesday.

• Nick Mitchell leads the Western Illinois offense as the sophomore holds a .369 average to go along with four homers and 24 RBI.

• The Leathernecks rotation is TBA for the weekend set.

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.