Oral Roberts Blasts Western Illinois in Tournament Opener

NewsOn6.com

SIOUX FALLS, South Dakota -- The Oral Roberts Golden Eagles moved to the winners' bracket led by their young guns with a 12-0 win over Western Illinois in the opening game of the Summit League Tournament.

Sophomore right-handed pitcher Drew Boewn (5-2) pitched a complete-game shutout, giving up just six hits and striking out seven batters in the win. Dan Russell (6-7) was credited with a loss for his outing, giving up seven hits and eight runs – only two earned – in his five innings of service.

Not to be outdone, freshman infield T.J. Bennett went 3-4 from the dish, driving in five runs, including two home runs.

Already leading 2-0 in the bottom of the first after an error kept the inning alive, Bennett went yard down the left field line to push the lead to five runs by the end of the first. That score held until the bottom of the fourth, when Bennett hit his second long ball to left field, to give the Golden Eagles a 6-0 advantage.

The Golden Eagles expanded their lead to 11 runs by the bottom of the seventh inning, and an RBI single to right field from Bennett to score Cam Schiller from third capped off the day for ORU.

Oral Roberts now moves into prime position to make a run at its 14th consecutive Summit League Tournament title, taking on the winner of South Dakota State and Southern Illinois at 3 p.m. Friday.

ORU got a complete-game, shutout performance from Drew Bowen in the 12-0 win.