ORU Falls Short of Second Straight Upset

Oral Roberts stood tied with No. 16 Baylor late in the game, but had one bad inning.

Thursday, May 26th 2011, 12:13 pm

By: News On 6

ORU Falls Short of Second Straight Upset

Originally Published: Feb 19, 2011 5:42 PM CDT

Corey DeMoss
Oklahoma Sports Staff Writer

WACO, Texas – The Oral Roberts baseball team nearly pulled off a second straight upset Saturday, but fell 9-4 to No. 16 Baylor thanks to one big inning.

Baylor (1-1) started the game hot, scoring four runs in the game’s first three innings. The Bears scored two runs in the first thanks to back-to-back doubles by Josh Ludy and Joey Hainsfurther, and then added unearned runs in each of the second and third innings.

Baylor seemed poised to break the game open, but ORU’s pitching stabilized and the Golden Eagles (1-1) scored three runs in the fifth to get back into the game. Nick Baligod started the scoring with a two-run triple, and then scored in the next at-bat on a ground ball to cut the lead to 4-3.

ORU then tied the game in the seventh with a bunt RBI by Spencer Barnett. Barnett reached base on the play, giving the Golden Eagles runners on first and second with one out and putting them in prime position to take the lead. But Brett Sowers followed by grounding into a double play to end the inning, and Baylor blew the game open in the bottom of the inning.

Matt Rush entered the game to pitch for ORU in the bottom half and immediately struggled. He surrendered a home run to Brooks Pinckard on his first pitch to give the lead back to Baylor, and then walked three batters to load the bases.

Rush then walked another batter to drive home a run and keep the bases loaded. Jake Miller took advantage with a two-run single, and Logan Vick added an RBI single to give the Bears five runs in the inning. ORU failed to score in the final two innings to seal the loss.

ORU upset Baylor 7-3 in the teams’ season opener Friday, and they will finish their three-game series at 1 p.m. Sunday.