ORU In Wichita For Midweek Matchup

The Oral Roberts baseball team heads to Wichita State for a mid-week matchup against the Shockers Tuesday night at 6 p.m. Catch live video coverage on WatchESPN with audio available on the ORU Sports Network, AM 1550 and 99.9 FM.

THE STORYLINE: The Golden Eagles play their final non-conference road game of 2017 trying to bounce back for their first series loss The Summit League. ORU dropped two of three at North Dakota State, but was the first team to clinch a spot in the conference tournament.

FACING THE SHOCKERS: ORU has a 30-34 record all-time against Wichita State after claiming the first meeting in Tulsa March 21, 7-4, behind five home runs. The Golden Eagles have lost five-straight games played on the Shockers' home field and stand 95th in the latest RPI polls, while WSU ranks 146th.

POWER NUMBERS: Noah Cummings remains one of the best RBI machines in all of NCAA Division I baseball ranking 11th with 58 RBI. His 1.26 RBI per game ranks eighth nationally. He paces The Summit League in RBI tallying 18 multi-RBI games this season.

PITCHING DOMINANCE: Miguel Ausua ranks third in the nation and paces the league with nine wins for ORU as the pitching staff remains one of the best in the country. The Golden Eagles have the 11th-best ERA at 3.12. Josh McMinn, Ausua and Justin McGregor are the only three starters in The Summit League with a sub-three ERA to pace the conference.

ROAD READY: Starting April 4 in Norman, the Golden Eagles will travel roughly 3,600 miles for 18 contests during the final weeks of the season. ORU closes the regular season on the road in Macomb, Illinois, at Western Illinois May 18-20.

MILESTONE WIN: March 26 against South Dakota State, ORU Head Coach Ryan Folmar picked up his 150th career victory after a 6-2 win. His record now stands at 153-103 (.598) in his fifth season leading the Golden Eagles.

FREE BASES: During a 13-inning game March 24, ORU drew a season-high 13 walks against South Dakota State. It was the most in a single game since a 16-walk effort at Little Rock March 24, 2015. The teams also combined for 26 walks, more than any other game in at least 20 years at ORU.

AUSUA'S WEEKLY AWARD: Ausua was named Summit League Pitcher of the Week for the second time this season after throwing seven shutout innings at NDSU May 7. The junior won his conference-leading ninth game allowing just five hits.

MORE LEAGUE HONORS: Senior Grant Glaze picked up his first-career Summit League Pitcher of the Week honor after a career day at SDSU last week and Matt Whatley followed with his second weekly award in week 11. Glaze threw five shutout innings in long relief striking out eight, while Whatley hit .636 in a weekend sweep of Fort Wayne adding eight RBI.

TOP THE SUMMIT AGAIN: For the second time this season, Noah Cummings and Justin McGregor were named Summit League Player and Pitcher of the Week, respectively. Cummings accounted for 15 runs during a perfect 4-0 week, while McGregor threw ORU's first complete game in 2017 at Omaha.

THIRD TIME THE CHARM: ORU landed both the Summit League Player and Pitcher of the Week for three-straight weeks March 13 with Dylan Snypes and Josh McMinn earning the honors. Snypes had a pair of three-hit efforts, including his team-leading eighth double, while McMinn pitched eight innings in a win over No. 16 DBU allowing just one earned run.

SUMMIT HONORS: Matt Whatley and Justin McGregor were named Summit League Player and Pitcher of the Week in week three. Whatley extended his hitting streak with a pair of home runs at U.S. Bank Stadium and McGregor moved to 2-0 with a mid-week win at Kansas.

WEEKLY WINNERS: ORU swept The Summit League weekly honors in week two as Noah Cummings and Miguel Ausua were named Player and Pitcher of the Week. Cummings hit .500 with two home runs, six RBI and a .938 slugging percentage. Ausua limited Alabama to just one run and six strikeouts in six innings securing the weekend sweep.

TOURNAMENT ACCOLADES: The Golden Eagles had three players named to the 30th Dairy Queen Classic all-tournament team in Minneapolis. Matt Whatley (catcher), Nick Roark (2nd base) and Trevor McCutchin (designated hitter) were all named to the team.

POWER FIVE TILTS: Coach Folmar and the Golden Eagles have not shied away from playing the NCAA's top conferences. Over the last three seasons, ORU has posted a 17-11 mark against the Power Five, going 12-5 when facing a team from the Big 12. ORU is 21-22 against teams in Power Five conferences during his tenure.

WALKING OFF: For the first time since April 7, 2009, an ORU hitter provided late-inning fireworks hitting a walk-off home run. In the bottom of the 13th inning Feb. 18 against Little Rock, senior Michael Hungate drove a ball well over the fence in left field for a 4-3 victory.

SEE US NATIONALLY: Thirteen ORU baseball games will be available nationally on ESPN3 with nine home games televised. Al Jerkens will have the live play-by-play call, while former OU pitcher George Frazier and ORU catcher Erik Hansen will provide color commentary.

RETURNING DEPTH: ORU boasts one of its most experienced lineups welcoming 20 letter winners. The returners accounted for 70 percent of the run and hit total from 2016, including all but seven of the team's home runs. The pitching staff, behind 12 pitchers back on the roster, returns its winning pitcher from 30 of its 38 victories.

DAUNTING SCHEDULE: ORU again faces a daunting schedule in 2017 taking on three NCAA Tournament teams from a season ago, including two games against Oklahoma State, a College World Series participant. The schedule features seven teams that ended the 2016 campaign ranked in the nation's top 85 by RPI.

HOSTING THE BEST: The top four teams in the league's regular-season standings will qualify for The Summit League Baseball Championship in Tulsa, Oklahoma. As defending champions, ORU is set to host the four-team event at J.L. Johnson Stadium from May 24-27.

STAYING CONNECTED: Follow the Golden Eagles all season long across social media platforms and two mobile apps (ORU Golden Eagles Live and ORU Front Row) available on Google Play and the App State. Use the hashtag #ORUBase to stay connected with fans across the nation.