TULSA, Okla. – Second-seeded Oral Roberts rolled to a 21-2 victory over fourth-seeded Omaha to win the 2022 #SummitBSB Championship title game Sunday at J.L. Johnson Stadium. Second baseman Mac McCloskey homered twice, including a fifth-inning grand slam, and was one four Golden Eagles with at least three hits.
The ORU senior finished with seven RBI as the Golden Eagles set a league title-game record with their scoring output, while Connor Beichler led a 21-hit attack with a season-best four base knocks. Championship MVP Holden Breeze added three more hits and scored three runs to finish each game of the event with multiple-hits.
In each of their three tournament games, the Golden Eagles struck early and often en route to the program's 20th Summit League postseason title. After scoring three first-inning runs in each of their first two games, ORU put up a five-spot in the top half of the championship game with all of those runs crossing home with two outs.
Justin Quinn, Joshua Cox and Connor Beichler all delivered run-scoring hits in the frame that saw the Golden Eagles touch up Omaha starter Joey Machado for five singles. Quinn delivered the first blow with a two-run double, Cox followed with an RBI-single and Beichler capped the scoring with a two-run single.
The Mavericks had a pair of base runners on in the first and second innings, but failed to chip away at the deficit as ORU starter Evan Kowalski pitched out of the jams. The Omaha bats broke through for a run in the third when they loaded the bases off Kowalski and Jack Lombardi drove in their first run with a single through the left side.
Lombardi would be the last batter Kowalski would face as Kaleb McCullough entered with the bases loaded and promptly induced an inning-ending double play to prevent the Mavericks from trimming more off the deficit.
Machado settled down and did not allow any more runs through the second and third innings, but ORU would get the run back in the fourth when Caleb Denny provided an RBI-single. Omaha brought in reliever Tanner Howe, who was able to keep it a 6-1 contest.
That changed in the fifth, however, as ORU put together its second five-run frame of the game when Mac McCloskey belted a grand slam after Alec Jones plated the first run after being hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to extend the advantage to 11-1.
Noah Greise hit a solo home run for the Mavericks in the sixth, but that would be the only run they could muster off McCullough in 3.2 innings of work as he picked up his second win of the tournament.
A RBI-groundout by Jake McMurray in the sixth got the run back for ORU and built its lead back to 10.
ORU widened its lead to 19 with a nine-run seventh inning, which McCloskey added a three-run homer in to give him seven RBI in a contest that would provide the widest margin of victory in a Summit League title game. Pinch-hitter A.J. Archambo had a pair of run-scoring hits during the frame as 13 Golden Eagles went to the plate.
Neither team scored after the seventh as Jakob Hall picked up the final out to clinch the automatic bid and provide ORU with its 29th NCAA Tournament appearance in program history.
Pitcher of Record
Win – Kaleb McCullough (3-0): 3.2 IP, 2 hits, 1 earned run, 1 walks, 2 strikeouts
Loss – Joey Machado (4-6): 3.1 IP, 8 hits, 6 earned runs, 3 walks, 0 strikeouts
Notable Notes
• The Golden Eagles won their 20th Summit League Tournament title and first since 2018. This was a rematch of the 2019 title game played at J.L. Johnson Stadium where the third-seeded Golden Eagles forced an "if necessary" game, which was eventually won by top-seeded Omaha.
• The Mavericks were the seventh No. 4 seed to reach the title game. The 2014 NDSU squad remains the only one to win the trophy.
• Since 2000, ORU has now won all 15 tournament titles in which it started 2-0 and advanced to the winner's bracket.
• With five runs in the first, ORU scored 11 total first-inning runs in three tournament games and never trailed.
• The 21 total runs were a title-game record and marked the 11th time a team has scored 20-plus runs in the championship game.
• McCloskey finished one RBI shy of tying a single-game tournament record with his seven RBI.
All-Tournament Team
Connor Beichler, Oral Roberts
Holden Breeze, Oral Roberts (MVP)
Noah Greise, Omaha
Caleb Riedel, Omaha
Cade Feeney, North Dakota State
Henry George, South Dakota State
Jackson Loftin, Oral Roberts
Jack Lombardi, Omaha
Harrison Kreiling, Omaha
Mac McCroskey, Oral Roberts
Kaleb McCullough, Oral Roberts
Jake McMurray, Oral Roberts
Eduardo Rosario, Omaha
Druw Sackett, North Dakota State
Up Next
Oral Roberts will find out what NCAA Regional it will play in on Monday at 11 a.m CT.
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