Oral Roberts Sweeps Doubleheader With Centenary

The Golden Eagles now have won their last four games and remain undefeated in conference play.

Thursday, May 26th 2011, 12:19 pm

By: News On 6

Oral Roberts Sweeps Doubleheader With Centenary

Originally Published: Apr 9, 2011 7:49 PM CDT

Corey DeMoss
Oklahoma Sports Staff Writer

TULSA, Okla. – The Oral Roberts baseball team swept a doubleheader Saturday against Centenary, winning the first game 7-1 and the second 2-0.

ORU (14-11, 3-0) started the scoring early, with runs in each of the first two innings of the first game. Nick Baligod drove in a run with a single in the first, and Joey Winiecki added an RBI infield single with two outs in the second for a 2-0 lead.

Centenary (3-16, 0-3) got on the board in the third inning with an RBI groundout by Matt Creamer, but could that would be its only run of the day.

The Golden Eagles blew the game open in the fourth inning with four runs, starting with a free RBI for Baligod, who was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. Brandon King followed by unloading the bases with a double to extend the lead to 6-1.

Baligod finished the game’s scoring with his third RBI of the game on a sacrifice fly in the seventh inning. Drew Bowen earned his first win of the season by throwing five innings and giving up one run on only one hit.

The seven-run outburst in the first game gave the Eagles 44 combined runs in their last four games, but their bats cooled off in the second contest of the day. But they did not need much offense thanks to dominant pitching.

Alex Gonzalez pitched a complete game and held Centenary scoreless, giving up six hits and zero walks while striking out three. The Eagles’ offense mustered only five hits, but they came at opportune moments.

ORU manufactured both of its runs, both thanks to walks. In the third inning, Bennett Pickar worked a walk to lead off the frame and then advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Winiecki. Cam Schiller then drove him home with a double to give ORU a 1-0 lead.

The Eagles used much the same strategy in the fourth inning. T.J. Bennett drew a one-out walk, and he advanced to second on a groundout by Spencer Barnett. Brett Sowers then drove Bennett home with an RBI double, and that marked the end of the game’s scoring.

The two-game sweep gave ORU four consecutive wins, and the two teams will conclude their series at 1 p.m. Sunday.