ORU Baseball Tops Missouri State

Oral Roberts University baseball won its fourth midweek game of the season, avenging its only loss in midweek action as the Golden Eagles defeated Missouri State 4-1 at J.L. Johnson Stadium on Wednesday.

ORU improved to 4-1, in midweek games while the Golden Eagles moved their overall record to 13-14. The Bears, winners of four of their previous five games, dropped to 13-15 overall. The two teams will meet for a final time on May 6 in Springfield, Mo.

The middle hitters in the Golden Eagle lineup, Tyler Boss and Anthony Sequeira, went 2-3 in the ball game, with Boss scoring twice and Sequeira crossing the plate once. Audie Afenir drove in two of the Golden Eagle's runs, while Jose Trevino and Brandon Healy each drove in a run.

The ORU pitching staff held the Bears to just four hits, with Pepe Gomez (3-3) earning the win in five innings of work. Gomez allowed the lone MSU run on three hits. Hayden Holley allowed the fourth hit of the ballgame in the top of the sixth.

Colin Hightower, Kyler Stout and Jordan Romano each threw an inning and held the Bears hitless from the seventh inning on. Stout struck out the side in the top of the eighth and Romano got the final three outs of the game for his sixth save of the season.

Blake Graham had the big hit in the game for the Bears with a solo home run in the top of the fifth. Eric Cheray was the lone Bear with multiple hits as he had two singles. Jake Powers (1-2) took the loss as he went six innings, allowing two runs on six hits.

With one out in the top of the second, Boss and Sequeira each reached on back to back singles and moved up a base on a double steal with Brandon Healy at the plate. Healy delivered an infield single deep in the hole between third and short to drive in Boss to give the Golden Eagles a 1-0 lead.

Afenir quickly went after the first pitch of the next at bat, driving a pitch into left field to plate Sequeira and make the score 2-0.

After the Bears cut the lead to 2-1 in the top of the fifth on Graham's home run, the Golden Eagles answered in the home half of the seventh as Trevino single to left to score Emmanuel Forcier from second base, extending the lead to 3-1.

In the top of the eighth, Stout entered the game and sat all three Bears down swinging. With runners on the corners and one out in the bottom of the inning, Afenir laid down a well placed sacrifice bunt that allowed Boss to cross the plate to make it a 4-1 ball game.

ORU gets back to the conference play on Friday as the Golden Eagles host Sam Houston State in a three-game set at J.L. Johnson Stadium. Friday's series opener will be Military Appreciation Night, with first pitch set for 6:30 p.m.