The Basics
Game #50
Oral Roberts (30-19, 17-9) vs. Wichita State (16-34, 8-16)
Dates: May 13^th | 6:00 PM
Location: Eck Stadium (Wichita, Kansas)
Watch: ESPN+ | LiveStats: StatBroadcast
 
TULSA, OKLA. - The Oral Roberts baseball team hits the road for its final road trip of the regular season, starting in Kansas against Wichita State.
 
The Golden Eagles are fresh off their second series sweep in conference play, the first coming back on March 23^rd against Omaha, as they walked off Northern Colorado with a solo homer from Makani Tanaka.  ORU heads into the final stretch of the regular season a season high 11 games above .500 (30-19), and a conference play season high eight games above .500 (17-9).
 
As for Wichita State, they have experienced a down year coming into the mid-week with a 16-34 record after posting winning records in four of the last five seasons.  The Shockers snapped a three-game losing streak, taking the series finale against Rice down in Houston, Texas, and will play the last four games of the regular season at home. 
 
Pitching Matchup:  
 
Inside the Series:
Oral Roberts leads the all-time series with the Shockers 26-21, with their last meeting coming on April 17^th, 2024, where ORU got an 8-3 win.  The series over the last 10 games has been very competitive with an even split 5-5, but the Golden Eagles have won four of the last five games.  Ryan Folmar's club is 14-14 on the road against Wichita State throughout the series that began in 1999.
 
Quick Hits: 
-            Head Coach Ryan Folmar is now ORU Baseball's program win leader with 429
-            The Golden Eagles are a season-best 11 games above .500 coming off their third series sweep in 2025
-            Makani Tanaka's walk-off homer is ORU's second walk-off win this season
 
 
Scouting the Opponent:
Wichita State is a program with a lot of historical success, going to Omaha seven times in program history and making 27 NCAA Tournaments, but they haven't been since 2009.  The Shockers come in with a 16-34 record, 8-16 in the American Athletic Conference, under second-year Head Coach Brian Green. 
 
Offensively, the Shockers only have six "everyday starters" in the lineup, with those last three spots being a wild card.  They're led on average by Camden Johnson, who bats .325 this season with two homers and 29 RBIs.  Johnson is the only "everyday starter" who bats over .300.  Josh Livingston is the team's best overall batter with a .285 average, blasting a team-leading 13 homers and driving in the team-leading 43 RBIs.  He also leads the club in slugging percentage at .559.  As a unit, WSU bats .261, ranking 242^nd nationally. They've hit 30 home runs, which is 254 in the NCAA, and driven in 251. 
 
On the bump, right-hander Colton Vercoe got the start in the team's last mid-week game against common opponent BYU, going 3.0 innings, giving up five hits, three runs, all earned, no walks, and three strikeouts.  On the season, he is 1-1 with a 6.17 ERA in 23.1 innings.  Another mid-week starter for the Shockers has been Tyler Dobbs, who last started against Kansas State on April 22^nd, going just 1.1 innings, surrendering three hits, four runs, all earned, one walk, and striking out one.  On the season, the left-hander is 1-4 with a 7.71 ERA in 23.1 innings of work in 2025.  As a staff, the Shockers post an ERA of 6.79, ranking 207^th this season, and have a strikeouts per nine of 8.4, which is 129th in the NCAA. 
 
In the field, WSU has a fielding percentage of .968, 152^nd nationally, committing 57 errors and turning 31 double plays.  The Shockers have committed an error in their last six games and three of those have been multi-error games; they're 2-4 in that span. 
 
 

For the latest information on ORU Baseball, follow the Golden Eagles on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, or go to www.ORUAthletics.com. Fans can also receive updates on the team by downloading the ORU Athletics app from the App Store or Google Play Store.