The Basics
Game One: Western Illinois 9, Oral Roberts 8.
Game Two: Oral Roberts 10, Western Illinois 0
Records: ORU (10-15, 3-3 Summit), WIU (9-14, 5-5 Summit)
Location: Macomb, Ill. (Alfred D. Boyer Stadium)
 
MACOMB, Ill. – After a disappointing loss in game one of a doubleheader, the Oral Roberts baseball team managed to bounce back with a dominant 10-0 win in the second game of the day.
 
Ryan Cash get Oral Roberts offense going in game one when he homered off the top of the scoreboard on the second pitch of the game. In the second inning, Brody Gibson doubled the Golden Eagle lead when he drove in Joshua Cox on a hard hit ground ball.
 
Western Illinois got three runs in the third inning to take the lead, but ORU quickly responded in the fourth and fifth innings. In the fourth, Gibson doubled off the center field wall before Blake Shannon drove an RBI single into right-center to tie the game. Blake Hall gave the Golden Eagles their second lead of the day when he executed a hit and run to perfection, driving a single through the left side and scoring Adam Oviedo.
 
The Leathernecks got a run in the bottom of the seventh inning to tie the game at 4-4. As the game moved the eighth inning, ORU tacked on three more runs without a base hit. Cash came around to score on a passed ball, while Blake Shannon scampered home on a wild pitch.
 
A five-run ninth inning doomed the Golden Eagles in game one, as Western Illinois scoring the winning run on a wild pitch. The big blow of the inning came on a bases clearing double, scoring three runs and tying the game.
 
In the second game of the twin bill, it was all Oral Roberts, led by a complete game shutout from Isaac Coffey. The sophomore became the first ORU pitcher to throw a seven inning shutout since Kurt GIller on March 14, 2014. In seven innings of work, Coffey fanned seven Leatherneck hitters and allowed just five hits.
 
The Golden Eagles put up five runs in the second inning and never looked back. Jordan Wiley opened the scoring with a double to right field, before Alec Jones, Anthony Martinez, and Cash drove in runs with RBI singles.
 
Jones picked up his second hit and RBI in as many at bats when he took a pitch back up the middle, scoring Cox from second. In the fourth inning, Jake McMurray launched his first home run of the season high into the pine trees beyond the left field wall.
 
Two innings later, Caleb Denny and Cox each added an RBI single to push ORU's lead to 10.
 
Game One Turning Point
Allred had a bases clearing double for Western Illinois to tie the game in the ninth inning, before scoring the winning run on a wild pitch.
 
Game Two Turning Point
The Golden Eagles jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the second inning, highlighted by RBI base hits from Wiley, Jones, Martinez, and Cash. From there, the Oral Roberts offense never looked back and added additional runs in the third, fourth, and sixth innings.
 
Inside The Game One Box Score

• Ryan Cash became the first Golden Eagle to lead off a game with a home run since Nick Rotola on May 25, 2016 against South Dakota State.
• Blake Shannon recorded his first multi-hit game as a Golden Eagle.
• ORU scored in four of the first five innings in the contest.
• Anthony Martinez matched his career-high, drawing three walks.

 
Inside The Game Two Box Score

• Isaac Coffey became the first ORU pitcher to throw a seven-inning complete game since Justin McGregor on April 15, 2017 and the first seven-inning shutout since March 14, 2014.
• The win is the first shutout of the season for the Golden Eagles.
• Eight of the nine ORU starters tallied a hit in the contest.
• Coffey issued just one walk in his start – A four pitch walk to the leadoff hitter in the first inning.
• Jake McMurray drove in a career-high three runs on Saturday afternoon.
• For the second time this weekend, Cox tallied three hits in a game.

 
Up Next
Western Illinois and Oral Roberts will conclude their four-game series on Saturday afternoon in Macomb. First pitch will be thrown at 1 pm and all of the action can be found on the ORU Sports Network.
 
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