TULSA, Okla. -- Championship MVP Drew Stahl homered twice to lead third-seeded Oral Roberts to an 11-4 victory over fourth-seeded Northern Colorado Saturday in the #SummitBSB Championship title game at J.L. Johnson Stadium. The Golden Eagles won their third straight tournament title and 22nd overall.
However, this one came in unconventional fashion as it was just the second time the program was the No. 3 seed and first time coming off a sub-.500 season in Summit action. That did not deter ORU, however, as the squad protected its home field in impressive fashion, scoring double-digit runs in each of their three victories in Tulsa this week.
Early on, it looked like both teams might reach double figures as they combined for seven first-inning runs. ORU jumped out to a 4-0 lead on a pair of two-run homers as Elijah Rodriguez hit his second roundtripper of the tournament to the opposite field to put the Golden Eagles on the scoreboard. Stahl then added his first of the day after Holden Breeze was hit by a pitch.
Trevor Landen relieved starter Logan Moser after Stahls' blast and kept the deficit at 4-0 for the Bears as he retired three of the next four ORU batters.
The Bears responded by touching up ORU starter Joshua Caravalho for three runs to pull back within one after an explosive first frame. Garrett Fisher plated UNC's first two runs with a double that just got under the glove of a diving Sam Thompson in left field.
Caden Wagner followed with his own double to score Fisher before Caleb Isaacs relieved Caravalho and promptly induced an inning-ending double play.
ORU shortstop David Herring got one of those runs back in the top of the second to make it a 5-3 contest when his long fly ball hit the top of the wall and bounced over for a solo home run.
After a scoreless third by both teams, Rodriguez drove in his third run of the game with an RBI-single to push ORU's lead to 6-3 in the fourth. The ORU center fielder led all players with eight hits in the tournament and also added seven RBI in the Golden Eagles' three wins.
It was Stahl that put a stamp on the game and his MVP performance by belting a grand slam to make it a 10-3 contest. He finished with a tournament-high eight RBI.
Isaacs did not allow a run until the sixth inning and that tally off the lefthander was unearned as Brandon Sanchez scored on a passed ball. He finished going a career-long 5.1 innings in relief, allowing only four hits, while striking out three.
The ORU trio of Jared Ure, Conner Floyd and Dalton Patten followed Isaacs, holding the Bears without a hit over the final 3.1 innings.
The Golden Eagles tacked on one more insurance run in the top of the ninth on a sacrifice fly by Kyle Booker to cap the seven-run victory.
Pitcher of Record
Win – Isaacs (2-3): 5.1 IP, 4 hits, 1 run, 0 earned runs, 1 walk, 3 strikeouts
Loss – Moser (1-6): 0.0 IP, 3 hits, 4 earned runs, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts
Notable Notes
• This was the first time in tournament history the No. 3 and No. 4 seeds met in the title game and just the fourth time in 39 tournaments that the No. 1 seed did not play for a title.
• ORU has now won 22 titles and is 22-2 all-time win playing for a championship.
• Besides the first tournament in 1984, UNC became the sixth team in League history to advance to the title game in its tournament debut joining Wright State (1992), Troy (1994), Oral Roberts (1998), Southern Utah (2000), South Dakota State (2009).
• ORU improved to 19-0-1 all-time against the Bears, which includes a 14-0 win earlier during the tournament in a winner's bracket game Thursday.
• Stahl's six RBI tied him for the seventh most in a tournament game - the last time ORU played a title game at J.L. Johnson Stadium in 2022, Mac McCroskey had seven RBI in a 21-2 victory over Omaha.
• The Golden Eagles scored double-digit runs in each of their three victories in the tournament.
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All-Tournament Team
Caleb Isaacs, Oral Roberts
Brooks Fowler, Oral Roberts
Jakob Hall, Oral Roberts
David Herring, Oral Roberts
Elijah Rodriguez, Oral Roberts
Drew Stahl, Oral Roberts (MVP)
Murphy Gienger, Northern Colorado
Carter Monda, Northern Colorado
Jake Storey, Northern Colorado
Caden Wagner, Northern Colorado
Kai Wagner, Northern Colorado
Sam Canton, North Dakota State
Joey Danielson, North Dakota State
Harrison Kreiling, Omaha
Up Next
Oral Roberts will find out its NCAA Regional destination during the 2024 NCAA Baseball Selection Show that will air on ESPN2 Monday at 11 a.m. CT.
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