The Basics
Score: Oral Roberts 12 – Evansville 10
Records: ORU (1-0), EV (0-1)
Location: Tulsa, Okla. (J.L. Johnson Stadium)
Win: Jared Ure (1-0) | Loss: Shane Harris (0-1)

TULSA, Okla. – Drew Stahl and Sam Thompson highlighted Opening Day which saw the Oral Roberts baseball team start the year in the win column, with a thrilling 12-10, at J.L. Johnson Stadium.

On the mound,Jared Ure picked up the win after 1.1 innings of scoreless relief in his debut appearance for the Golden Eagles. Meanwhile, Dalton Patten shut the door on the Purple Aces with a six-out save, fanning four batters.

Offensively, the Golden Eagles reminded the country once again why they have one of the most dangerous lineups in the NCAA. Elijah Rodriguez and Cameron LaLiberte would shine in their ORU debuts as the two combined for six hits and four RBI . The returners from last year's historic squad picked up where they left off as Stahl would lead the squad with three RBIs thanks to a moonshot over the left field fence. While the Purple Aces could not find a way to keep Holden Breeze at bay as the third baseman reached safely three times and drove in two runs.

Evansville opened the scoring in the top of the first with an RBI triple to right-center off the bat of Mark Shallenberger as the visitors put ORU in an early three- run deficit. The Golden Eagles would claw their way back into the game and regain the lead off a two-run blast from Stahl in the bottom of the third.

However momentum would swing back towards the Purple Aces after a two-run shot and a bloop-single would put the Golden Eagles right back to where they started.

ORU would not go quietly into the night as they would immediately pull one run back after Stahl was able to put the ball in play to score Alex Rodgers. Then Ure was able to keep Evansville at bay to give Oral Roberts another shot of taking back the game.

The Golden Eagle offense would rise to the occasion in the bottom of the sixth as they were able to convert four walks and an error into a 11-7 lead.

As the game ventured into the final frames, the Purple Aces,  once again slowly creeped back within one of ORU. The circumstances would call for an ORU player to step up and Thompson would answer with a deep fly into the bullpen. The two-run cushion would be plenty of insurance for Patten to close out the wine for Oral Roberts.

Inside the Box Score
- ORU drew eight walks (Rogers collected three).
- The Golden Eagles registered 10 hits to the Purple Ace's 14.
- All nine ORU players reached base safely.
- As a staff, the Golden Eagles recorded nine strikeouts on the afternoon.
- Patten matched his career-high of four strikeouts.
- Rodriguez and LaLiberte each collected three hits and two RBIs.

Notes
- Friday's contest marked the 31st meeting all-time between ORU and Evansville.
- In season openers, the Golden Eagles improved to 37-19 all-time and 7-5 under head coach Ryan Folmar.
- In home openers, ORU is now 46-11 all-time and 39-7 since J.L. Johnson Stadium opened in 1978.
-  ORU is now 27-4 all-time against the Purple Aces and 16-1 in games played at home.
- Seven players made their ORU baseball debuts this afternoon.

Up Next
The Golden Eagles and Purple Aces return to the diamond tomorrow afternoon for game two of Opening Weekend starting at 2 p.m.

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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