OMAHA, Neb. — Top-seeded Oral Roberts scored seven times in the bottom of the second inning and never looked back in an 11-2 victory over South Dakota State in the opening round of the Summit League Baseball Championship Wednesday afternoon at Tal Anderson Field.
The Golden Eagles improved to 35-20 overall and will face the winner between Wednesday’s late game between North Dakota State and Omaha at 6 p.m. Thursday. SDSU dropped to 16-35 on the season and will face the NDSU-Omaha loser in an elimination game at noon Thursday.
ORU sent 11 batters to the plate in the second inning. Makani Tanaka started the outburst with a base hit off Jackrabbit starter Arlen Peters, which was followed by an error. Owen Coil doubled in the first two runs of the frame and Wailele Kane-Yates capped the rally with a three-run home run to left field. The other runs scored on a bases-loaded walk to Will Edmunson and a sacrifice fly off the bat of Cooper Combs.
Ty Madison followed with 2 2/3 scoreless innings of relief for the Jackrabbits before the Golden Eagles added three more runs in the fifth — two of which were unearned — and a run on four walks in the seventh inning to build an 11-0 advantage.
Meanwhile, ORU starter Easton Teel kept the Jackrabbits scoreless through the first seven innings and did not allow more than one baserunner in any of those innings. The right-hander struck out three and walked one batter.
The Jackrabbits ended Teel’s shutout bid with a pair of runs in the top of the eighth. Jess Bellows and Nic Werk singled around a walk to Davis Carr to load the bases. Carter Sintek and
Five Jackrabbit pitchers combined for only two strikeouts while issuing 10 walks and three hit batters.
Hits were even at eight per team. Bellows was the lone Jackrabbit with two hits, while Tanaka and Logan Campbell each tallied two hits for ORU.
NOTES
- Oral Roberts has won all seven games against the Jackrabbits this season and improved to 19-0 all-time against SDSU in Summit League tournament games
- SDSU dropped to 20-26 overall in 14 Summit League Baseball Championship appearances
- Bryce Ronken singled in the eighth inning to reach base safely for the 30th consecutive game
- Ronken made his first start in right field since April 11, after 15 consecutive games as the Jackrabbits’ designated hitter
- Nolan Grawe extended his hitting streak to 11 games with a fourth-inning single
- Sintek registered his 75th hit of the season with an infield single in the sixth inning
- Madison made his team-leading 22nd appearance of the season