The Basics
Game 58
Oral Roberts (46-11) at No. 11 Oklahoma State (41-18)
Date: June 2
Time: 6:00 PM
Location: Stillwater, Okla. (O'Brate Stadium)
Watch: ESPN+ | Behind the Mic: ORU Sports Network | Live Stats: StatBroadcast

TULSA, Okla. – The Oral Roberts baseball team opens its 30th NCAA postseason appearance with an in-state battle against the No. 11 overall seed Oklahoma State in the Stillwater Regional Friday at 6 p.m. from O'Brate Stadium.  

Friday's contest will be streamed on ESPN+, while an audio broadcast of the game will be available on the ORU Sports Network. Fans can also follow along with the game on ORU's Twitter, @ORUBaseball. Single-game tickets will go on sale an hour prior to first pitch, while all-session passes are available here.

Important Links
ORU Notes
Summit League Notes

Inside the Series
• Friday's contest marks the 79th meeting all-time and third this season between the two clubs.

• The Golden Eagles lead the all-time series, 41-37, and have won 12 of the last 15 meetings, including three straight. ORU has claimed both meetings against OSU this season, including an 8-5 victory at O'Brate Stadium on April 11.

• In the NCAA Tournament, the Golden Eagles have won three straight against the Cowboys and are 4-5 all-time. At O'Brate Stadium, the Golden Eagles are 2-0.

• Head coach Ryan Folmar is 13-5 all-time against his alma mater. 

Quick Hits  
• ORU secured a spot in the NCAA Tournament for the 30th time in program history after claiming its 21st Summit League Championship title with a 12-4 victory over South Dakota State on Saturday in Fargo, North Dakota. The victory improved the Golden Eagles to 72-7 all-time in the Summit League Championship and marked the 19th time in program history they have claimed both the regular season and tournament titles in the same season. 

• Since ORU joined the Summit League in 1998, the Golden Eagles have won 21 of the 23 tournament championships and 20 of the 23 regular season titles. (ORU was a member of the Southland Conference in 2013 and 2014)

• The Golden Eagles are currently riding the nation's longest win streak, 18, and are 36-3 in their last 39 contests. The 18 straight wins mark the program's longest streak in the NCAA Division I era since 1978 (19). ORU also owns a 13-game road win streak and has won four straight neutral site contests. 

• The Golden Eagles are making their fifth trip to Stillwater for an NCAA Regional and the first since 2015. ORU enters the regional with the second-most wins in the country, 46, their most since 2004. 

• In this week's Collegiate Baseball poll, ORU remained at No. 10 and has appeared in the poll for seven straight weeks. The No. 10 ranking is the Golden Eagles' highest since 1983.

• Center fielder Jonah Cox (first team) and closer Cade Denton (second team) were named to the Collegiate Baseball All-America teams Thursday. The duo became the 45th and 46th All-Americans in program history. Cox is the first Golden Eagle to earn First Team All-America honors since Brian Van Kirk in 2008. Denton is the third player in program history to earn an All-America selection in back-to-back seasons. (David Castillo - 2003-04/Dennis Bigley - 2004-05)

• Cox continues to be one of the nation's premier hitters as the junior enters the tournament ranked third in the country in hits (100), third in triples (8), fourth in hits per game (1.8) and fifth in batting average (.422). The Thornton, Colorado, native, who was named the Summit League Player and Newcomer of the Year, currently owns a 41-game hit streak, which is tied for the seventh longest in NCAA history. Cox, who has hit safely in 56 of the 57 contests this season, became only the third player in program history to record 100 hits in a single season. Cox was also named a semifinalist for the Dick Howser Trophy and a midseason addition to the Bobby Bragan National Collegiate Slugger Award Watch List. 

• Through 28 appearances this season, Denton, the Summit League Pitcher of the Year, has recorded a 1.60 ERA and 12 saves, which ranks sixth nationally. Among active players, Denton ranks third in career ERA (1.77). The junior is also a member of the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Stopper of the Year Midseason Watch List. 

• The Golden Eagles will send RHP Jakob Hall to the mound in Friday's contest. Hall has been ORU's Friday night starter all season long and holds an 8-3 record to go along with a 3.35 ERA. The sophomore leads the team with 85 strikeouts and ranks 12th nationally in walks allowed per nine innings (1.36) and 18th in WHIP (1.05).

• The Golden Eagles swept all five of the Summit League's individual awards and garnered a conference-best 13 All-Summit League honors. In addition to being named Player of the Year, Cox was also tabbed the Newcomer of the Year. Denton was selected as the Pitcher of the Year, while shortstop Mac McCroskey garnered Defensive Player of the Year honors. For the sixth time in his career, Ryan Folmar earned Summit League Coach of the Year honors. 

• Jake McMurray, Cox, Matt Hogan, Drew Stahl, Jakob Hall and Denton represented the Golden Eagles on the first team, while Jacob Godman, Holden Breeze, Mac McCroskey, Justin Quinn, Brooks Fowler and Harley Gollert landed on the second team. Blaze Brothers received honorable mention honors. 

• The Golden Eagle offense led the Summit League in batting average (.321), runs (479), hits (646), RBI (429), on-base percentage (.411), stolen bases (92), slugging percentage (.529), triples (19), total bases (1065) and walks (278). On the mound, ORU topped the conference in ERA (3.66), batting average against (.235), WHIP (1.24), saves (19), innings pitched (502.0), hits allowed per nine innings (7.76), strikeouts-to-walk ratio (2.8), walks allowed per nine innings (3.4) and strikeouts (525). Defensively, the Golden Eagles led the League in putouts (1506), assists (509), double plays (45) and fielding percentage (.983).

• Nationally, ORU ranks second in wins (46), WL percentage (.807), third in ERA, third in fielding percentage, fourth in WHIP, seventh in batting average, ninth in hits, ninth in hits allowed per nine innings, 11th in strikeouts per nine innings, 14th in walks allowed per nine innings, 17th in shutouts (5), 18th in slugging percentage, 18th in runs, 19th in triples, 20th in scoring, 23rd in on-base percentage and 25th in sac flies.

• Hogan led the League in RBI (63), walks (46) and sac flies (6), while Brothers ranked first in doubles (18).

• On the mound, Gollert ranks eighth nationally in wins with 10. The 10 victories are the most by a Golden Eagle since 2017.

• 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.

• 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. 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 18 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 365-221 (.623) overall record. ORU's skipper enters the tournament three wins away from passing former Golden Eagle manager and current Oklahoma State pitching coach Rob Walton for the second-most victories in program history (367).

Scouting the Opponent
• Oklahoma State enters the NCAA Tournament with a 41-18 record and earned a share of the Big 12 regular season title. 

• Roc Riggio leads the offensive charge with a .344 average to go along with 17 homers and 60 RBI. 

• The Cowboys will send RHP Nolan McLean to the mound Friday.

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.

#GoldenStandard