First
Pitch
The Golden Eagles travel to Wichita on Tuesday to play
Missouri Valley foe Wichita State in mid-week action. ORU won the
first meeting between the two teams, 7-4, on April 3, in Tulsa. ORU
is looking to win two games in a row on the road for the first time
this season.
The Coaches
Rob Walton is in his fourth season as ORU
head coach, with a record of 149-61 (.710). Not only was Walton the
2006 Mid-Con Coach of the Year for the second time in three
seasons, he also was awarded the 2006 ABCA Mid-West Region Coach of
the Year. Wichita State is coached by Gene Stephenson. Stephenson
is in his 30th season and has guided the Shockers to a 1,582-519-3
mark.
The Series: ORU vs. WSU
ORU and Wichita State have met on the diamond 42 times with the
Shockers leading the overall series, 24-18. Under the guidance of
head coach Rob Walton, the Golden Eagles are 2-1 against WSU in
games played at Wichita. ORU has had WSU�€™s
number as of late winning seven of the last 10 matchups.
ORU Notes
The Golden Eagles enter tonight�€™s game
with a 16-14 record and have not played since April 7 at Long Beach
State. ORU dropped two-of-three to the 49ers, winning the series
finale, 3-2. ORU has struggled away from Tulsa with a 3-13 away
mark but are looking to win two in a row on the road for the first
time this season. As a team, ORU is batting .245 with Jake
Kahaulelio leading the team with a .312 average and eight
doubles. Brian Van Kirk leads the squad with 22
RBI while Chad Rothford has a team-leading seven
home runs. ORU has a staff ERA of 4.10 with Chance
Chapman posting a team-best 1.43 ERA in 14 appearances.
Chapman leads the squad with 55 strikeouts and four saves while
Jeremy Hefner has been the most consistent starter
with a 4-1 record and a 3.92 ERA. Chris Ashman
looks like he might have returned to his form of last season,
pitching a complete game in a 3-2 win over No. 23 Long Beach State
last time out.
Wichita State
Notes
The Shockers are 30-8 and are coming off a three-game
sweep of Missouri Valley Conference foe Southern Illinois this past
weekend. Wichita State is ranked as high as No. 10 by Baseball
America and Collegiate Baseball. The Shockers are ranked No. 13 in
the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll and are 11th in the RPI by
www.boydsworld.com. WSU can swing the bat, hitting .316 as a team
with eight players having at least a .300 average. Nine Shockers
have multi-home run totals with Matt Brown leading the group with
six round-trippers. Multipositional star Damon Sublett (.387) leads
the team with 31 RBI to go along with three home runs, three
triples, and seven doubles. Opponents find it tough to score runs
against the WSU due to a staff ERA of 2.61. Three different hurlers
have five wins; Travis Banwart (6-2), Aaron Shafer (5-2), and Rob
Musgrave (6-0), lead the group.
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the game notes click on the link below...
