TULSA, Okla. -- Third-seeded Oral Roberts protected its home field by posting an 11-3 victory over second-seeded North Dakota State in Wednesday's second game of the Summit League Baseball Championship at J.L. Johnson Stadium.
ORU struck first in the opening frame when Elijah Rodriguez raced around to second on a high pop-up that fell safely on the left side of the infield, sliding in safely with a double. He would later score on a soft liner by Drew Stahl down the right field line.
It would not take long for the Bison to take their first lead of the game in the bottom half after Colton Becker delivered a two-run homer off Summit League Pitcher of the Year Jakob Hall.
NDSU tacked on an unearned run in the second to make it a 3-1 contest on an RBI-single by shortstop Jake Schaffner but that would be the only runs a trio of ORU hurlers would yield. The Golden Eagles have now won all 24 first-round Summit League Tournament games they have played.
ORU loaded the bases in the fourth but NDSU starter Logan Knight was able to keep the two-run cushion by getting Holden Breeze to fly out to right field to end the threat.
The Golden Eagles got to Knight in the fifth as they regained the lead at 6-3 on the strength of four extra-base hits and two NDSU errors. Stahl scored the first run, advancing home on a throwing error by catcher Will Busch.
Left fielder Sam Thompson then belted a two-run homer to right center to put ORU back in the lead.Cameron LaLiberte followed with a triple and scored on a hard-hit single by David Herring through a drawn-in Bison infield. Rodriguez plated the final run with his second double of the contest, giving Hall a 6-3 advantage going into the bottom of the fifth.
ORU kept piling on the runs, adding three more in the sixth thanks to a run-scoring single by Martell Davis and two-run double by Herring.
The Golden Eagles final two runs came on solo shots by Breeze in the seventh and Rodriguez in the ninth.
Rodriguez, Breeze, LaLiberte, Herring and Kyle Booker each multiple-hits for the Golden Eagls, who outhit the Bison 14-5.
Pitcher of Record
Win – Hall (10-2): 6.1 IP, 5 hits, 3 earned runs, 1 walk, 8 strikeouts
Loss – Knight (5-4): 4.1 IP, 7 hits, 6 runs, 4 earned runs, 4 walks, 4 strikeouts
Notable Notes
• Becker hit his team-leading sixth home run of the season in the bottom of the first inning for the Bison.
• Hall won his 10th game of the year and fifth consecutive start.
• ORU is now 24-0 all-time in first-round games in the tournament.
• This marks the first time the No. 3 seed and No. 4 seed will meet in the winner's bracket since 2013.
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Up Next
Oral Roberts will play No. 4 seed Northern Colorado in a winner's bracket game at 6 p.m. CT on Thursday, while NDSU will play top-seeded Omaha in a loser's bracket tilt with first pitch slated for 12 p.m. CT.
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