The Basics
Game 8
Oral Roberts (3-4, 0-0) vs. Missouri State (3-4, 0-0)
Dates: Feb. 20 | 3:00 PM
Location: Hammons Field (Springfield, MO)
Live Stats: ACU Athletics
 
TULSA, Oklahoma – The Oral Roberts baseball team continues its road swing Tuesday, traveling to Springfield, Missouri, for a midweek matchup at Missouri State on Feb. 24 at 3 p.m.
 
Last Time Out:
The Golden Eagles are coming off a series loss at Abilene Christian last week, taking the opener 9-2 before falling 12-3 in game two and 8-7 in the rubber match.
 
Martell Davis led the team offensively with five RBI, tallying two extra-base hits— a two-RBI double and a three-run homer.
 
On the mound, Weston Rouse recorded six strikeouts over 3.2 innings against the Wildcats, walking just one batter. Friday starter Easton Teel earned the game-one win after throwing five innings, allowing one run while striking out five.
 
Inside the Series:
Tuesday's game marks the 71st meeting between ORU and the Bears. The two teams last met on Feb. 18 at Chapman Park, where Missouri State earned an 11-0 shutout victory. ORU leads the all-time series, 37-33.
 
Scouting the Opponent:
Missouri State is coming off a series loss at Ole Miss last weekend, falling 11-6, 6-3, and 3-2. The Bears are 3-4 overall and opened the 2026 season with two wins at Louisiana.
 
Caden Bogenpohl and Max Knight were named to the 2026 Preseason All-Conference USA Team, while the Bears were picked to finish sixth in their first year in the 12-team league.
 
Bogenpohl also received Preseason All-America honors from Perfect Game after finishing the 2025 campaign batting .296 with 13 home runs and 44 RBI.
 
Knight, a utility player, earned NCBWA Third-Team All-America honors last season after batting .275 with 13 home runs, 46 RBI, and a .551 slugging percentage. On the mound, Knight threw 45 innings with 55 strikeouts. He hit and pitched in the same game 15 times last season, homering in seven of those contests.
 
Head coach Joey Hawkins is in his second season at the helm of the Bears and holds a 33-29 career record.
 
Player of the Week:
Senior outfielder Cooper Combs was named the first Kwik Star Summit League Peak Hitter of the Week on Tuesday, February 17.
 
Combs went 6-for-10 and hit safely in all three games of the season-opening series against Southern Illinois. The Fayetteville, Arkansas, native went 2-for-4 in the opener before finishing 1-for-3 with the game-tying run in game two.
 
In the series-clinching win, Combs went 3-for-3 with a pair of doubles, two RBI and two walks. He delivered a go-ahead RBI double in the fifth inning, then added an insurance run with an RBI single in the sixth.
 
1st Place = 1st Teamers:
ORU returns three Summit League First Team selections from 2025. Catcher Wailele Kane-Yates, right fielder Will Edmunson, and right-handed starter Easton Teel were each selected to the First Team for the first time in their careers.
 
League Award Winners:
RHP Easton Teel earned the 2025 Summit League Newcomer of the Year Award for his performance on the mound. His 2.95 ERA led the conference and ranked No. 36 nationally.
 
The freshman also led the league in strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.60), wins (7), WHIP (1.09), and walks allowed per nine innings (1.64).
 
Tulsa Tanks:
ORU relied on the long ball last season, leading the league with 70 home runs. Wailele Kane-Yates led the team and ranked second in the Summit League with 12 home runs, closely followed by Martell Davis with 10. Cooper Combs and Will Edmunson added nine each, while Owen Coil and Ethan Fielder finished with seven apiece.
 
Crown the King:
Head Coach Ryan Folmar surpassed legendary coach Larry Cochell for first on the ORU Baseball program's all-time wins list with the Golden Eagles' walk-off victory against Northern Colorado on Sunday, May 11. The win marked No. 429 for Folmar as head coach at ORU. He also led the program to a College World Series appearance in 2023, one of two appearances in program history.
 
In addition, Folmar was named the 2025 Summit League Coach of the Year.


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