Oral Roberts Sweeps IPFW in Doubleheader

Originally Published: May 1, 2010 8:14 PM CDT

Andrew Topps
Oklahoma Sports Staff Writer

FT. WAYNE, Indiana -- Oral Roberts went deep nine times and swept a doubleheader with IPFW. The Golden Eagles won the first game 15-4 and the second 13-5 Saturday.

Nick Baligod went 5-for-6 with five RBIs for the Golden Eagles (25-18 overall, 13-3 Summit).

Game One - ORU 15, IPFW 4

ORU scored 11 runs in the first inning to coast to a 15-4 victory. The Golden Eagles banged out three home runs to gain their second run-rule victory of the series.

The first eight batters reached for ORU in the top of the first inning. Baligod had a three-run homer and Brett Sowers a two-run double before the Golden Eagles recorded and out. Joey Winiecki drove in a pair of runs in his second at-bat of the inning. Seth Furmanek knocked in one with a fielder's choice and Chris Elder roped an RBI single. Two other runs scored on wild pitches.

Jeff Burleson (6-2) earned the win in the first game allowing four runs while going the distance.

P.J. Sequeira blasted a two-run homer in the fourth inning to give ORU a 13-2 lead. Bennett Pickar had a solo shot in the seventh and Baligod added an RBI single for a 15-2 advantage.

Game Two - ORU 13, IPFW 5

Dallas Beeler (1-0) earned the win in the second game and combined with Furmanek and Sean Johnson to shut out the Mastodons over the last 6.2 innings, after starter Mark Guest failed to make it out of the first inning.

ORU scored three times in the top of the first on home runs by Saladino and Elder, but Guest couldn't hold the lead. Beeler relieved Guest with one out in the bottom of the first and the game tied 3-3. IPFW scored twice more in the inning for a 5-3 lead before ORU made its comeback.

The Golden Eagles tied the game in the top of the second on a two-run homer by Colby Price. Baligod hit an RBI single four batters later to give ORU a 6-5 lead.

An RBI double by Sequeira in the third made it 7-5, and Tyler Garewal drove in a run in the fifth for an 8-5 lead. Furmanek hit a solo home run and Sequeira hit a two-run shot in the sixth for an 11-5 advantage.

Saladino capped the scoring for ORU in the seventh with a two-run homer for a 13-5 lead.

ORU returns to action when it visits Wichita State at 7 p.m. Tuesday.