Golden Eagles eliminate Jackrabbits with 4-0 win

SDSU Sports Information and staff reports
Posted 5/25/19

TULSA, Okla. – Omaha edged Oral Roberts 3-2 in a winner’s bracket game but the Golden Eagles bounced back to beat South Dakota State 4-0 in an elimination game during the Summit League Baseball Championship on Friday at J.L. Johnson Stadium.

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Golden Eagles eliminate Jackrabbits with 4-0 win

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TULSA, Okla. – Omaha edged Oral Roberts 3-2 in a winner’s bracket game but the Golden Eagles bounced back to beat South Dakota State 4-0 in an elimination game during the Summit League Baseball Championship on Friday at J.L. Johnson Stadium.

The top-seeded Mavericks (30-21-1) and third-seeded Golden Eagles (28-25) play today at 11 a.m. UNO clinches the title with a victory. If ORU wins, a second championship game would be played later in the day.

The second-seeded Jackrabbits concluded the season with a 28-22 record.

Notes: SDSU dropped to 17-19 in 10 Summit League Baseball Championship appearances. … ORU is now 63-4 in 20 appearances with 19 titles (1998-2012, 2015-18). The Golden Eagles were in the Southland Conference in 2013 and 2014. … UNO is making its first appearance in the title game. The Mavericks won regular-season titles its first two years in the league – 2013 and 2014 – but was not eligible for the postseason.

 Oral Roberts 4, SDSU 0

Oral Roberts right-hander Isaac Coffey pitched a five-hit complete-game shutout, ending South Dakota State’s season with a 4-0 setback Friday afternoon.

ORU scored single runs in each of the second and third innings, getting on the board on a Blake Hall run-scoring single that scored Andrew Pace. The Golden Eagles’ run in the third inning was plated on a double to the right-center gap by Riley Keizor that scored Hunter Wilson.

SDSU starter Ryan Froom settled in from there, putting up zeroes in each of the next five innings. The senior right-hander matched a career high by pitching eight innings and recorded groundouts on 16 of the 24 outs he recorded. Froom struck out three and walked two.

Coffey began a string of retiring 13 Jackrabbit hitters in a row by inducing a ground-ball double play with runners at the corners and one out in the bottom of the first inning. The freshman struck out a career-high nine and did not walk a batter.

The Jackrabbits threatened again in the sixth inning as they collected three of their five hits in the game.

Luke Ira led off with a single and, after a strikeout and fielder’s choice, Nick Smith singled to right field. Gus Steiger then stepped to the plate and lined a single to right, but ORU outfielder Trevor McCutchin, who was a defensive replacement to start the inning, fired a strike home to get Drew Beazley at the plate to end the rally and the inning.

SDSU had its comeback hopes further dashed in the top of the ninth by committing three errors, which led to two ORU runs. Hunter Swift opened the inning by reaching on an error and moved to second on a bunt single by Hall. Both runners moved up a base on an errant pickoff attempt at second base and Swift later scored when a throw to first base on a chopper off the bat of Anthony Martinez was dropped. The final run of the game scored on a sacrifice fly by Jake McMurray.

Steiger tallied two of SDSU’s five hits, while Keizor and Hall each collected two of ORU’s eight hits.

Notes: SDSU was shut out for the first time in a Summit League tournament game. ... Froom finished second on the SDSU career charts with 49 games started, fourth with 270 2/3 innings pitched and sixth with 176 strikeouts. Froom passed Jon Maras (175 strikeouts from 1989-92) on the career strikeouts chart in Friday’s game and broke a tie with Stephen Bougher (48 starts from 2010-13) for career starts. ... Smith ended his career with 196 hits. ... Bret Barnett made his 20th appearance of the season and ended the year with 47 strikeouts in 34 1/3 innings for an average of 12.32 strikeouts per nine innings pitched, a ratio that ranks third in a season at SDSU. He lowered his season ERA to 1.31, which ranks as the third-lowest mark in program history (minimum 30 innings pitched). ... Steiger recorded his team-leading 23rd multi-hit game of the season.

ORAL ROBERTS 4, SOUTH DAKOTA STATE 0

ORU   011 000 002    4  8  0

SDSU 000 000 000    0  5  3

Isaac Coffey and Riley Keizor; Ryan Froom, Austin Suhr (9), Bret Barnett (9) and Ryan McDonald. W – Coffey (3-2). L – Froom (6-5). 2B: ORU, Keizor.

Winner’s Bracket

 Omaha 3, Oral Roberts 2

Joey Machado overcame a rough opening frame to throw seven innings and the Mavericks scored three unanswered runs to pull out the victory.

Five of the Golden Eagles’ first six batters reached base – four on hits – as Riley Keizor and Isaac Coffey recorded RBI singles. In between, UNO center fielder Thomas Debonville threw out a runner at the plate.

Machado ended up allowing two runs on six hits and four walks with three strikeouts.

The Mavericks got on the board in the top of the fourth after Ben Palensky drew a one-out walk and scored on Debonville’s triple up the right field line.

Breyden Eckhout led off the seventh with a single.

Keil Krumwiede then put down a sacrifice bunt. A throwing error on the play allowed Eckhout to score and Krumwiede to get to third. Parker Smejkal followed with a sacrifice fly to left to put UNO ahead 3-2.

Andrew Brighton pitched a scoreless eighth and Cal Hehnke worked around Blake Hall’s leadoff single in the ninth to notch the save.

Smejkal, Eckhout and Jack Lombardi each totaled two hits for the Mavericks.

Hall went 2-for-4 for the Golden Eagles. Anthony Martinez doubled.

Matt Gaskins took the loss after allowing three runs – one earned – on seven hits and three walks with four strikeouts in 6 1/3 innings.

OMAHA 3, ORAL ROBERTS 2

UNO 000 100 200    3  8  0

ORU 200 000 000    2  7  2

Joey Machado, Andrew Brighton (8), Cal Hehnke (9) and Brett Bonar; Matt Gaskins, Trevor McCutchin (7), Trey Wolf (9) and Riley Keizor. W – Machado (6-2). L – Gaskins (5-5). Sv – Hehnke (7). 2B: ORU, Anthony Martinez. 3B: UNO, Thomas Debonville.