The Basics
Games 45-47
No. 24 Oral Roberts (33-11) at St. Thomas (7-25)
Dates: May 5-7
Location: Koch Diamond (St. Paul, Minn.)
Watch: Tommies All-Access | Behind-the-Mic: ORU Sports Network | Live Stats: Sidearm Stats

TULSA, Okla. – Riding a five-game win streak, the No. 24 Oral Roberts baseball team hits the road for a three-game set against St. Thomas starting Friday at 3 p.m. from Koch Diamond. Saturday's and Sunday's contests are slated for 1 p.m.

All three games will be streamed on Tommies 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 Game Notes
St. Thomas Notes
Summit League Notes

Inside the Series
• Friday's series opener marks the seventh meeting all-time between the two clubs.

• ORU swept the first meeting this season between the two sides back on March 17-19 in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and leads the all-time series, 5-1.

• The weekend set marks the first meeting between the two programs in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Quick Hits  
• The Golden Eagles enter the weekend with a 23-3 record in their last 26 games and have won five straight. 

• In midweek action, ORU rallied from a five-run deficit to defeat No. 16 Oklahoma State, 9-7, from J.L. Johnson Stadium on Tuesday. With the win, the Golden Eagles swept the season series against the Cowboys. The Top 25 matchup marked the first at home since 2004.  

• On Monday, ORU cracked the Top 25 in the Collegiate Baseball poll and has been ranked for three straight weeks.

• First baseman Jake McMurray, who hit a go-ahead three-run homer in the eighth on Tuesday, was named a Collegiate Baseball National Player of the Week on Monday after hitting four homers over the weekend. The senior, who has started in 126 consecutive games has now homered five times in the last four contests.

• Center fielder Jonah Cox pushed his hit streak to 28 games in Tuesday's win and has now recorded a hit in 43 of the 44 contests this season. The junior enters the weekend ranked third nationally in hits (78), third in hits per game (1.8), fourth in triples (6) and eighth in batting average (.429). Cox was also named to the Bobby Bragan National Collegiate Slugger Award Watch List.

• Shortstop Mac McCroskey was named to the Brooks Wallace Award Watch List, which honors the nation's top shortstop. The redshirt senior is hitting .288 with 13 homers, 42 RBI and 12 stolen bases. In addition to his offense, McCroskey anchors one of the top defenses in the nation.

• On the mound, midweek starter Joshua Caravalho was named to the College Baseball Foundation National Pitcher of the Year Watch List, while closer Cade Denton was named to the NCBWA Stopper of the Year Midseason Watch List.

• Out of the bullpen reliever Jacob Widener has been dominant over his last 17.2 innings of work as the redshirt sophomore has struck out 30 batters and allowed only three runs.

• The Golden Eagles will send RHP Jakob Hall, LHP Harley Gollert and RHP Brooks Fowler to the mound this weekend. The trio owns a combined 17-5 record and a 3.67 ERA on the season. In his career, Gollert ranks fourth among active players in strikeouts with 275.

• Entering the weekend, the Golden Eagle offense leads the Summit League in batting average (.314), runs (355), hits (485), home runs (78), RBI (325), on-base percentage (.400), stolen bases (77), slugging percentage (.540), triples (13) and total bases (835). On the mound, ORU tops the conference in ERA (4.22), batting average against (.246), WHIP (1.29), saves (16), innings pitched (386.0), hits allowed per nine innings (8.2), strikeouts-to-walk ratio (2.7) and strikeouts (401). Defensively, the Golden Eagles top the League in putouts (1158), assists (403), double plays (39) and fielding percentage (.984).

• Nationally, ORU ranks second in fielding percentage, 10th in WL percentage (.750), 10th in WHIP, 12th in hits, 15th in batting average, 15th in strikeout-to-walk ratio, 15th in slugging percentage, 21st in double plays, 21st in home runs and 27th in ERA.

• Matt Hogan remains the League leader in RBI (51) and sac flies (6). At the national level, Hogan ranks 15th in sac flies. 

• On the mound, Gollert and Hall lead the League in wins with six. Nationally, Hall ranks eighth in walks allowed per nine innings (1.13) and 18th in WHIP (1.01).

• 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, 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 21 appearances this season, Denton has recorded a 1.76 ERA and 10 saves, which ranks sixth nationally.

• Among active players in Division I, Denton ranks third in career ERA with a 1.84 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. McCroskey and Denton were named the Preseason Player and Pitcher to Watch for ORU as voted on by the league's seven head coaches. 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.

• Folmar is in his 11th season at the helm of the Golden Eagles and has compiled a 352-221 (.614) overall record.  

Scouting the Opponent
• The Tommies are coming off a series victory over Omaha a weekend ago and own a 7-25 mark on the year.

• At home, St. Thomas is 3-3 this season. 

• The Tommies will start RHP Kolby Gartner on Friday and LHP Evan Esch on Sunday. Saturday's starter is TBA.

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.