TULSA, Okla. -- Third-seeded Oral Roberts broke open a tight game with a 12-run outburst in the eighth inning to advance to beat fourth-seeded Northern Colorado 14-0 and reach the #SummitBSB Championship title game.
Golden Eagle starter Brooks Fowler tossed 5.1 innings scoreless innings and allowed only one hit to improve to 6-4 as the Golden Eagles have now reach the final in all 23 Summit League Tournaments they have partcipated in dating back to 1998.
After both teams were held scoreless through the first three innings, the Golden Eagles were able to strike for a tally in the fourth on a sacrific fly by Martell Davis. ORU threatened to add more but UNC Murphy Gienger was able to strike out Drew Stahl with the bases loaded to keep it a 1-0 contest.
The Bears were able to load the bases themselves off Fowler in the fifth without the benefit of a hit as an error and two walks put the ORU hurler in a jam for the first time. However, the righthander was able to strike out the final two Bears of the frame to keep his team ahead.
ORU would tack on another run in the fifth when Sam Thompson was hit by a Gienger pitch with the bases loaded but that would all the Golden Eagles would get across as they took a 2-0 lead into the sixth.
Fowler would yield his first hit of the game in the sixth when Carter Monda hit a line drive to center field. The righthander would exit after that, giving up just the one hit and two walks over 5.1 innings, while striking out eight.
ORU broke the game open in the eighth when the bats produced 12 runs on nine hits off of three UNC relievers. Davis had two run-scoring hits in the frame and finished the contest with a career-high three RBI. Shortstop David Herring blasted a three-run homer in the frame and Kole Dudding capped the scoring with a pinch-hit homer run that was the first of his collegiate career.
Elijah Rodriguez joined Davis with three hits in the contest as the Golden Eagles outhit the Bears 14-2.
Pitcher of Record
Win – Fowler (6-4): 5.1 IP, 1 hit, 0 earned runs, 2 walks, 8 strikeouts
Loss – Gienger (5-4): 7.0 IP, 5 hits, 2 runs, 2 earned runs, 4 walks, 5 strikeouts
Notable Notes
• The Golden Eagles have advanced to all 24 Summit League Championship title games that they could have as a league member and won 20 of those, including a season ago in Fargo.
• The last shutouts in the tournament happened in 2021 when South Dakota State put one together against Omaha in a loser's bracket game and North Dakota State followed with one in a winner's bracket game against Oral Roberts that same year.
• ORU second baseman Martell Davis finished 3-for-4 with a career-high three RBI.
• ORU has scored double figures in four consecutive tournament games dating back to last season.
Up Next
Northern Colorado will play second-seeded North Dakota State in an elimination game on Friday at 4 p.m. CT. ORU will await the winner of that contest in Saturday's title game scheduled for 1 p.m. CT.
#SummitBSB
