MACOMB, Ill. - Western Illinois baseball is set to clash with the Golden Eagles of Oral Roberts University for three games this weekend (April 10-12) at Alfred D. Boyer Stadium. Game one is set for a 3 p.m. first pitch on Friday (April 10) with games two and three starting at noon on Saturday and Sunday.
This weekend also marks all-alumni weekend for the WIU baseball program. Leatherneck players from each decade will be present and honored prior to Saturday's game with socials and festivities scheduled throughout the weekend.
LAST TIME OUT: Western Illinois traveled to Omaha, Nebraska for a Summit League series against the Mavericks last weekend (April 3-5)... In game one the Leathernecks scored first on a Roman Visintine RBI-walk... The Mavericks scored four straight to take the series opener 4-1... Game two went to WIU by a score of 8-4... Western scored in the fourth, sixth, and seventh innings to take an 8-0 lead... UNO attempted to come back, scoring four in the eighth... Tyler Owings came on to pitch with one out in the bottom of the eighth... He earned the final five outs for his WIU record-setting 10th-career save... In the victory, Jake Moore and Colton Pogue both homered for the Purple and Gold... Tom Constand earned his second win of the season... He pitched seven shutout innings and allowed just three hits and two walks on seven strikeouts... Game three turned into a hit parade as both teams combined for 28 hits and 25 runs... The final score was 17-8 in favor of Omaha... Visintine and Brent Turner each scored two runs in the loss... Moore collected two more RBIs and now leads the team with 17 on the season. On the week, Western went 2-2 with a win over No. 24 Iowa and its second win in program history over Omaha.  SCOUTING THE GOLDEN EAGLES: Oral Roberts comes into Macomb having won 11 of its last 12 and 15 of its last 18... On Tuesday (April 7) the Golden Eagles defeated Big 12 foe Texas Tech 5-4 in Tulsa... Over Easter weekend, ORU took two games from South Dakota State, winning 5-3 on Friday and 9-2 on Sunday while dropping Saturday's game 8-7 in 10 innings... Ryan Folmar is in his third year as head coach of the Golden Eagles... In 2014 Folmar led ORU to a victory over No. 8 Oklahoma State and a two-game sweep of No. 28 Oklahoma... Senior infielder Anthony Sequeira leads the Golden Eagles at the plate with four home runs, 31 RBIs and a .360 batting average... Xavier Altamirano will start on Friday (April 10), leading a rotation depleted by injury... He carries a 2.93 ERA with 44 strikeouts and three wins. Â
SERIES HISTORY: This weekend marks the 64th, 65th, and 66th meetings between WIU and ORU... The Golden Eagles hold a commanding 56-7 lead in the series... Western and Oral Roberts last met on April 22, 2012 in Tulsa, Oklahoma... ORU took the game in eight innings by a score of 16-6.
UP NEXT: Western Illinois will stay at home following the weekend series and face Wisconsin-Milwaukee in a midweek doubleheader on Tuesday (April 14)... The Leathernecks next Summit League action will be April 17-19 at Fort Wayne.
ANOTHER SUMMIT LEAGUE 'PLAYER OF THE WEEK': On Monday (April 6) Colton Pogue was named The Summit League Baseball 'Player of the Week'... The freshman's first career honor comes for his efforts from March 30 - April 5... Pogue is the first freshman in program history to be named 'Player of the Week' on the offensive side... Aaron Michel earned 'Pitcher of the Week' honors as a freshman in 2013.
FRESHMAN PHENOM: Freshman second baseman, Colton Pogue's has recently exploded at the plate... His offensive outburst against No. 24 Iowa on April 1 puts the him in the Western record books... The Blue Springs, Mo. native's six RBI ties him for third for most RBI in a game in Western history... Pogue's eighth-inning grand slam is also the first one in just under a year, since Adam McGinnis against Fort Wayne on April 13, 2014... Against Omaha (April 3-5) Pogue hit two more doubles and added another home run.
ALUMNI WEEKEND: April 10-12 is set as 2015's Western Illinois baseball Alumni weekend... The event will be highlighted by a three-game series against Summit League-leading Oral Roberts... Alumni in attendance will be honored before Saturday's game at noon... A variety of activities and socials will be available throughout the weekend... WIU track and field and softball will also be at home the same weekend, giving fans plenty to see and do.Â
ORU RETURNS TO THE SUMMIT: In 2015, the Golden Eagles of Oral Roberts University out of Tulsa, Okla. return to the Summit League following a two-year hyatus. Before its departure, ORU Baseball won 15 straight Summit League Tournament Championships. Their return will also bring a change to the league schedule for all teams, with all teams now playing two three-game series, home and away.
PLEASE SIR, WE WANT SOME MOORE: Senior outfielder Jake Moore leads the Leathernecks with four home runs this season, and is tied for second in The Summit League... His fourth came against Omaha on April 5 in an 8-4 win for Western... Moore has also posted a career-high seven game hitting streak that is still active... Earlier in the season the Romeo, Michigan native posted a, then career-high, six game hit streak... He also leads WIU in RBIs and hits.
Â
