Jackrabbits baseball team drops finale to ORU

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OMAHA, Neb. – Oral Roberts right-hander Justin McGregor carried a shutout into the seventh inning, leading the Golden Eagles to an 8-1, series-clinching win over South Dakota State in Summit League baseball action Saturday afternoon at Millard North High School.

League-leading ORU improved to 23-15 overall and 13-5 in The Summit League. SDSU dropped to 10-22 overall and 8-7 in league play.

Both of Oral Roberts’ first two runs were unearned. The Golden Eagles cracked the scoring column in the third inning on a two-out RBI double by Noah Cummings that scored Nick Roark, who reached on an error. ORU took advantage of another Jackrabbit error in the fourth to go up 2-0 on a sacrifice fly by Daniel Kloehr.

SDSU loaded the bases with one out in the fifth inning, but McGregor struck out the next two Jackrabbit hitters to end the inning. The Golden Eagles carried that momentum into the top of the sixth, scoring twice against five different Jackrabbit pitchers in the frame. The first run of the inning scored on a wild pitch, with Nick Roark adding a run-scoring single.

Riley Keizor’s second double of the game for ORU drove in a run in the top of the seventh for a 5-0 lead.

The Jackrabbits’ lone tally of the day came in the home half of the seventh. Pinch-hitter Logan Holtz singled with one out and later came around to score on a Newt Johnson single to right field. SDSU again left the bases loaded in the frame and stranded 11 men in the contest.

Oral Roberts tacked on two more runs in the eighth on a home run by Spencer Henson and Roark knocked in his second run of the game in the ninth to provide the final margin.

McGregor struck out six and walked five over 6 2/3 innings. SDSU starter Tyler Olmstead fanned six and walked four, allowing only two hits, before being lifted with one out in the sixth.

ORU held a 9-5 advantage in hits as Roark, Henson and Keizor all notched a pair of hits. SDSU’s five hits came from five different players.

NOTES: ORU leads the all-time series, 49-14, including a 5-1 advantage this season. ... Nick Smith tripled in the first inning to extend his hitting streak to 11 games, which is the longest streak by a Jackrabbit this season. ... Newt Johnson reached base safely for the 25th consecutive game. ... SDSU used seven different pitchers in the game.

UP NEXT: The Jackrabbits’ scheduled home games Monday against Dakota Wesleyan and Wednesday versus Creighton have been canceled. Instead, SDSU will travel to Minnesota on Wednesday for a 6 p.m. matchup against the Golden Gophers at Siebert Field in Minneapolis.