TULSA�€"Adam Lesko (Las Vegas,
Nev.) was impressive on the mound in game one and No. 26 Oral
Roberts University survived a late scare in game two as the Golden
Eagles swept a doubleheader from South Alabama, winning the opener
10-1 and the nightcap 5-3, Saturday at J.L. Johnson Stadium.
The sweep improves ORU
to 19-5 on the season, while South Alabama falls to 10-14.
In the opener Lesko
(2-1) allowed one run on six hits over eight innings, striking out
seven and walking just one. He retired 10 of the last 11 batters he
faced.
ORU took a 1-0 run in
the bottom of the second when Josh Lex (Elk Grove,
Calif.) scored on a double play groundout by Ricky Rivera (Santa Isabel,
P.R.). South Alabama tied the game in the top of third when the
Jags scored their only run against Lesko in the on an RBI single by
catcher Tim Land.
Grant Plumley's (Lake
Forest, Calif.) two-run homer in the bottom of the third put ORU on
top 3-1 and the Golden Eagles never looked back. Run scoring
singles by Nate
Griffin (Tulsa, Okla.) and Kevin Lamb (Owasso, Okla.)
in the fourth put ORU up 5-1 and the Golden Eagles broke it open
with three runs in the sixth and two more in the seventh.
Game two featured a 1
hour, 52 minute rain delay and a late rally by South Alabama
against one of ORU's most reliable pitchers before the Golden
Eagles escaped with a 5-3 win.
ORU jumped out to a 2-0
lead on Dennis
Bigley's (Lancaster, Texas) two-run single in the first.
The Golden Eagles made it 3-0 on an RBI single by Griffin in the
fourth before the game was halted by lightning and then rain.
When play resumed, ORU
tacked on a in the fifth when Ryan Welborn (Yukon, Okla.)
walked with the bases loaded for a 4-0 lead.
After South Alabama
trimmed it to 4-1 in the top of the sixth, ORU appeared to the Jags
at a safe distance when Griffin's sacrifice fly gave the Golden
Eagles a 5-1 lead.
But South Alabama scoed
two runs in the eighth off Justin Ramsey (Elk Grove,
Calif.), and it could have been worse if not for the play of Lex in
right field.
Ramsey loaded the bases
with none out and Quendon Montgomery hit what appeared to be a
game-tying grand slam. But Lex knocked the bal back in the park for
a two-run double. The next batter �€" Justin Hawarah
�€" lined the first pitch to Lex and he fired home to
catch Josh Touchstone trying to score. Ramsey then ended the threat
by getting Jansen Rayborn to fly out.
Sean Sorrow (Bakersfield,
Calif.) picked up the win in game two, going allowing one unearned
run on eight hits over 6.2 innings. Sorrow (3-1) struck out four
and didn't walk a batter.
ORU banged out 24 hits
in two games with Griffin leading the charge, going 5-for-7 with
four RBI. Bigley was also 5-for-7 with two RBI.
The Golden Eagles next
visit Oklahoma on Wednesday at an as yet-to-be-determined time.
--ORU--
