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Western Illinois University Athletics

Javin Drake
Larry Dean
0
Oral Roberts ORU 16-14
1
Winner Western Illinois WIU 6-19
Oral Roberts ORU
16-14
0
Final
1
Western Illinois WIU
6-19
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Oral Roberts ORU 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 2
Western Illinois WIU 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 X 1 3 2

W: Drake, Javin (1-2) L: Justin McGregor (2-1) S: Borchers, Colan (2)

5
Winner Oral Roberts ORU 17-12
4
Western Illinois WIU 5-19
Winner
Oral Roberts ORU
17-12
5
Final
4
Western Illinois WIU
5-19
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Oral Roberts ORU 0 0 3 1 0 0 0 0 1 5 10 2
Western Illinois WIU 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 2 4 12 1

W: Miguel Ausua (3-1) L: Dunne, Ryan (2-4) S: Kyler Stout (8)

Game Recap: Baseball | | WIU Athletic Communications

Leathernecks Capture Several Firsts in Series Win over ORU

Western earned its first series win over Oral Roberts as well as other season’s firsts.

MACOMB, Ill. – It was an unconventional day at Alfred D. Boyer Stadium Sunday as Western Illinois and Oral Roberts played 10.5 innings of baseball between two games. The Leathernecks resumed Saturday's suspended game in the bottom of the eighth inning and battled in a 5-4 loss, before earning the series win in the rubber match with a 1-0 shutout.

The series against Oral Roberts captured several firsts: Western's first series success over the reigning Summit League champions, Ian Koch's first career win over the team, and Javin Drake's first win of the season.  It was also the first time Western has played through snow this year.

"It's good to get a series win against anybody in our league. We weren't in a great place last weekend after the Fort Wayne series, and I'm just happy in the way we bounced back," said head coach Ryan Brownlee. 
 
"We've had our problems with Oral Roberts. They are a good team, with a good program; they've won [the championship] just about every year and everything goes through them. I'm just glad we focused on ourselves and playing good baseball. Elements weren't good; this was a tough weekend to play but the guys didn't use the cold as an excuse and came ready to play."  

Game 2
In the opening inning, Ryan Dunne struck out the side en route to retiring the first five batters faced. He fanned 10 in the game -- the most tallied by a Leatherneck pitcher this season -- and currently sits atop the Summit League in the category with 53. Koch, who received a win in game one's 8-2 decision, ranks second in the league with 42.

Four straight singles allowed ORU to take a 3-0 edge in the third inning, and the game was suspended in the middle of the eighth inning due to darkness.

Western trailed, 4-1, at that point, and play resumed Sunday morning at 11 a.m.

On the very first at-bat, Drue Galassi and Brady Womacks tangoed for a 2-0 count, and the matchup favored the Leathernecks in a leadoff single.  Alex Dorethy brought his teammate home with an RBI-single to left field but the score was erased by an ORU RBI-single in the top of the ninth.

Womacks struck out the Leathernecks first two hitters in the bottom of the frame, but back-to-back singles by Deion Thompson and Galassi kept the inning alive. The two hopped a base on a wild pitch and crossed home plate after a two-RBI single by Bailey Montgomery.

Oral Roberts' 10th error of the series allowed Grant Hannant to reach first base, but WIU concluded the game with runners on the corners.

Game 3
Western continued its momentum in game three as Galassi reached on a fielder's choice in the second inning and a runner scored.

The 1-0 lead stuck through the final out for Western's second shutout of the season.

Justin McGregor held a no-hitter until the sixth inning where Dorethy and CJ Schaeffer went back-to-back with singles, and Javin Drake earned his first win. In six innings, he surrendered three hits and four walks, and tallied a career-high eight strikeouts.

Colan Borchers pitched three innings and allowed one hit in the save.

Western will play host to SIU-Edwardsville Wednesday at 4 p.m. before closing out its eight-game home stand with a series against Omaha beginning Friday.
 
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