TULSA, Okla. - The Western Illinois baseball team (10-24, 6-15) split games with the Oral Roberts (21-19, 12-5) Friday (May 7) evening. Early offensive production and key pitching helped the Leathernecks edge out the Golden Eagles, 5-4, in game one, while a late-inning single helped ORU secure a 3-2 victory in game two.
Game 1: WIU 5, ORU 4
The series opener proved to be a pitcher's duel early on with Oral Roberts recording the only hit in the opening two innings. The Leathernecks struck first when Adam Juran scored on a wild pitch in the top of the third, advancing Kory Olsen to third base. Kevin Raisbeck drew a one-out walk, setting up Luke Schwartz's three-run homer to put Western up 4-0 early against the Golden Eagles.
Oral Roberts scored a lone run in the bottom half of the inning and wouldn't score again until the bottom of the fifth, cutting Western's lead to 4-2. A Derek Botaletto RBI-single in the top of the eighth tacked on an insurance run that would later prove just enough to stop the Golden Eagles.
ORU's bats heated up in the last two innings of the contest, scoring one run in each, but Jack Carberry slammed the door shut in each frame with a strikeout, halting the late-game rally and securing the 5-4 win, the team's first since April 2.
Jace Warkentien (1-4) earned his first win of the season and tied his season-high in innings pitched with seven. The junior allowed a season low of only two runs while yielding eight hits and striking out three.
Game 2: WIU 2, ORU 3
Game two's scoring occurred a little quicker than in game one. A Golden Eagles double in the bottom of the first inning scored two and ORU took an early 2-0 lead.
Back-to-back singles in the top of the fourth inning by the dynamic duo of Trent Bauer and Alex Dorethy scored Schwartz and Raisbeck to even up the score at two apiece.
The game remained tied until the bottom of the seventh when a leadoff double and a wild pitch by ORU's Caleb Denny placed the winning run on third. A single to left field sealed the fate of the Leathernecks as the team dropped game two 3-2 on a walk-off.
The Leathernecks are back in action tomorrow (May 8) with first pitch scheduled for 2 p.m.