The Basics
Game 48
No. 16 Oral Roberts (36-11) at Wichita State (27-19)
Date: May 9
Location: Eck Stadium (Wichita, Kan.)
Watch: ESPN+ | Behind-the-Mic: ORU Sports Network | Live Stats: StatBroadcast

TULSA, Okla. – The No. 16 Oral Roberts baseball team concludes its four-game road trip with a midweek contest at Wichita State Tuesday night at 6 p.m. from Eck Stadium. 

Tuesday's midweek will be broadcast on ESPN+, while an audio stream 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
Summit League Notes

Inside the Series
• Tuesday's midweek marks the 76th meeting all-time and third this season between the two clubs.

• ORU has claimed both matchups this season, including a 6-5 victory at Eck Stadium back on March 7.

• The Golden Eagles have won three of the last four contests against the Shockers but trail the all-time series, 34-41.

Quick Hits  
• ORU enters Tuesday's midweek riding an eight-game win streak and has won 26 of its last 29 contests. 

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

• The series win against the Tommies marked the eighth straight for the Golden Eagles and the seventh sweep of the season.

• In this week's Collegiate Baseball poll, ORU rose to No. 16 in the rankings. This marks the fourth consecutive week the Golden Eagles have appeared in the poll.

• First baseman Jake McMurray earned his second consecutive TicketSmarter Summit League Peak Performer of the Week honor after hitting two go-ahead home runs and driving in six RBI in a 4-0 week for ORU. The senior, who has started in 129 consecutive games has now homered six times in his last seven contests after not homering all season.

• Center fielder Jonah Cox pushed his hit streak to 31 games over the weekend and has recorded a hit in 46 of the 47 contests this season. The junior, who went 8-for-16 last week, currently leads the nation in hits (85) and also ranks second in hits per game (1.8), third in triples (7), seventh in batting average (.438) and 29th in stolen bases (24). Cox was also named to the Bobby Bragan National Collegiate Slugger Award Midseason Watch List.

• The Golden Eagles will send RHP Joshua Caravalho to the mound tomorrow night. In two starts against the Shockers this season, Caravalho has allowed one run in 10 innings of work. 

• Tuesday's game marks the final midweek of the season for the Golden Eagles, who are 7-3 in such contests.

• Shortstop Mac McCroskey earned a spot on the Brooks Wallace Award Watch List, which honors the nation's top shortstop. The redshirt senior is hitting .283 with 13 homers, 46 RBI and 12 stolen bases. In addition to his offense, McCroskey anchors one of the top defenses in the nation.

• On the mound, 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 20 innings of work as the redshirt sophomore has struck out 33 batters and allowed only three runs.

• Entering the weekend, the Golden Eagle offense leads the Summit League in batting average (.312), runs (382), hits (516), home runs (81), RBI (348), on-base percentage (.402), stolen bases (79), slugging percentage (.536), triples (15), total bases (885) and walks (220). On the mound, ORU tops the conference in ERA (4.05), batting average against (.242), WHIP (1.29), saves (17), innings pitched (413.0), hits allowed per nine innings (8.0), strikeouts-to-walk ratio (2.7) and strikeouts (422). Defensively, the Golden Eagles top the League in putouts (1239), assists (436), double plays (40) and fielding percentage (.984).

• Nationally, ORU ranks second in fielding percentage, 6th in WL percentage (.766), eighth in WHIP, 14th in hits, 15th in ERA, 15th in batting average, 16th in slugging percentage, 19th in strikeout-to-walk ratio, 20th in hits allowed per nine innings, 22nd in walks allowed per nine innings, 24th in home runs and 29th in double plays. 

• Matt Hogan remains the League leader in RBI (55) and sac flies (6). At the national level, Hogan ranks 19th in sac flies. 

• On the mound, Harley Gollert leads the League in wins with seven. Nationally, Hall ranks eighth in walks allowed per nine innings (1.15) and 23rd in WHIP (1.02).

• 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 22 appearances this season, Denton has recorded a 1.71 ERA and 10 saves, which ranks seventh nationally.

• Among active players in Division I, Denton ranks third in career ERA with a 1.83 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 355-221 (.616) overall record.  

Scouting the Opponent
• After dropping both contests at Houston over the weekend, Wichita State enters the midweek with a 27-19 mark. 

• Brock Rodden leads the offensive attack for the Shockers as the junior holds a .341 average to go along with 13 homers and 53 RBI. 

• The Shockers will start RHP Grant Adler in Tuesday's contest.

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.