Who | Oral Roberts
Where | Macomb, Ill (Alfred D. Boyer Stadium)
When | May 18-20
Watch | Leatherneck All Access
Social Media | Instagram & Twitter
Last Time Out
Western Illinois and St. Thomas battled in six games in six days after having their original series rescheduled for this past week. WIU and UST started the week in Macomb on Tuesday (May 9) for a doubleheader. The Leathernecks took both doubleheader games 5-2 & 8-2. The final four games headed to St. Paul. Western Illinois took the first game in Friday's doubleheader 7-4. Taking game one on Friday gave WIU their first three-game sweep since 2021.
The Leathernecks and Tommies started their second three-game set in game two of Friday's doubleheader. St. Thomas took game one of the three-game set 9-7 before WIU would take game two 13-3 in seven innings and game three 5-4. The Leathernecks have won five of their last six games for the first time since 2019.
WIU fell to Eastern Illinois, wrapping up their non-conference schedule 9-3.
Chase VanDerGinst gave WIU the early 1-0 lead with a solo home run in the 2nd inning. VanDerGinst would drive in his second run of the day with an RBI single in the 6th inning, cutting EIU's lead to 5-3. EIU scored their final four runs over the next three innings to give them a 9-3 lead.
Leathernecks Stat Leader
Nick Mitchell remains at the top of offensive categories for the Leathernecks. The former Summit League All-Freshman teamer leads WIU in batting avg (.369), OPS (1.064), runs (41), hits (66), doubles (16), triples (6), HR (4), total bases (106), SLG% (.592), walks (33) OB% (.472).
Double Digit Hits
Western Illinois hitters collected double-digit hits in all six games in the St. Thomas series. WIU has had double-digit hits in 20 of their 47 games this season.
Chasing Fargo
Western Illinois is looking to return to the Summit League Championships for the first time since 2019. The Leathernecks are sitting .5 games back from Omaha for the fourth spot in the Summit League standings that would guarantee them the 656-mile trip to Fargo, ND.
Getting on Base
Nick Mitchell stayed an on-base machine against St. Thomas. The Carmel, Ind native collected hits in five of the six games over the past week. Mitchell increased his on-base streak to 30 games which is a team-high this season. Mitchell's on-base streak ended against Eastern Illinois on Tuesday.
Chasing The Record Book
Jack Bell engraved his name in Leatherneck Baseball history last season, setting the record for single-season appearances (31). Bell is chasing more WIU Baseball season records. Bell currently sits one appearance from breaking the all-time career appearance record at 72. He also sits three appearances away from breaking his single-season appearance record.
Scouting Oral Roberts
ORU comes into the final weekend atop the Summit League Standings with a 20-1 conference record clinching the number one seed overall in the Summit League tournament. The Golden Eagles currently have a 40-11 and are ranked No. 12 in the country according to Collegiate Baseball NCAA Division I poll.