Unlikely Hero Comes up Clutch for Golden Eagles

Tyler Garewal has seen his playing time diminish due to competition in the outfield, but the senior elevated his team when it counted.

Thursday, May 26th 2011, 11:46 am

By: News On 6

Unlikely Hero Comes up Clutch for Golden Eagles

Originally Published: Jun 5, 2010 5:59 PM CDT

More Norman Regional baseball coverage from Oklahoma Sports
- Oral Roberts Avoids Elimination with Walk-Off Home Run
- Unlikely Hero Comes up Clutch for Golden Eagles
- Oklahoma Tops North Carolina in Dramatic Fashion
- Golloway's Faith Rewarded in Win over Tar Heels

Gerald Goodridge
Oklahoma Sports Staff Writer

NORMAN, Oklahoma -- Home runs have been the life blood for the Golden Eagles all season, but none were more important than Tyler Garewal’s fourth of the season.

The senior left fielder swung on the first pitch he saw in the ninth inning, sending it over the center field wall to win the game 9-8 for ORU and ending California's quest for a College World Series crown.

More importantly, it kept the Golden Eagles' NCAA Tournament hopes alive.

“My feet still haven’t hit the ground,” said Garewal. “That was probably the greatest sports moment for me.”

Garewal struggled as the leadoff hitter for Oral Roberts against the California pitching staff. Before his home run, he went 1-of-3 for the game and struck out once. Despite not getting a hit since the first at-bat of the game, he knew exactly what he wanted when he came to the plate in the ninth.

“I got the right pitch,” said Garewal. “The pitch I was looking for was a fastball, letter high. I actually wanted to get on top of it.”

After starting 45 of the Golden Eagles’ 48 games in 2009, Garewal saw his playing time decrease in his senior season. The senior from Bakersfield, California only started 27 games for ORU this season due to depth in the outfield.

Despite seeing a diminished role in his final season with the Golden Eagles, Garewal continued to produce when called upon.

“To Tyler’s credit, he’s been really awesome about his role and the role he took on because he was a special player for us last year,” said Oral Roberts head coach Rob Walton. “What I wanted to do today [by playing Garewal] was try to get a little more offense in there.”

The Golden Eagles will now face either Oklahoma or North Carolina to try to stay alive in the tournament, two teams with the ability to put up big numbers.

The Tar Heels have scored 446 runs on the season, while only allowing 279, while the Sooners have mustered 387 scores on the season. The question becomes can the team who has hit a school record 104 home runs on the season, continue to rely on the long ball to stay alive in the tournament.

“If the wind keeps blowing out I think so,” said ORU catcher Seth Furmanek, who hit two home runs in the game to give him 25 on the season. “We try not to focus on that. We focus on hitting the ball, squaring it up and hit the gap. If it goes out, it’s out.”