JACKS EDGED IN MARATHON SUMMIT OPENER

Friday, March 25

Tulsa, Okla.

6 p.m.

South Dakota State University

6-13, 0-1

Oral Roberts

13-9, 1-0

South Dakota State

Oral Roberts

Luke Ira Home Run Teaser vs Purdue, 2-18-2022

Photo by: Erik Williams

3/25/2022 10:56:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

TULSA, Okla. — Oral Roberts' Jake McMurray doubled in the game-winning run in the bottom of the 14^th inning as the Golden Eagles outlasted South Dakota State, 5-4, in the Summit League baseball opener for both teams Friday night at J.L. Johnson Stadium.

ORU improved to 13-9 overall, while the Jackrabbits dropped to 6-13 on the season.

Brody Gibson started the game-winning rally with a one-out single up the middle. After SDSU reliever Reece Arbogast struck out the next batter, McMurray worked the count full before lining a pitch into the left-field corner, with Gibson using the head start to slide in safely ahead of the relay throw and tag at the plate.

McMurray's heroics came after the Jackrabbits tied the game at 4-all in the top of the eighth. After being limited to only one hit — a single by Nic Nelson to lead off the fifth inning — by ORU starter Isaac Coffey through the first seven innings, SDSU broke through against the Golden Eagles bullpen.

Drew Beazley opened the eighth with a single to left and advanced to second when pinch-hitter Dawson Parry was hit by a pitch. Henry George then came through with an infield single to shortstop that was mishandled, allowing Beazley to score. Luke Ira followed by stepping to the plate and jumping all over an Evan Kowalski offering for a three-run home run to left field.

Meanwhile, Jackrabbit reliever Ryan Bourassa put up a series of zeroes to send the game into multiple extra innings. The junior right-hander would go on to set a career high with 12 strikeouts in six shutout innings before giving way to Arbogast to start the 14^th.

Twice in extra innings SDSU began an inning with a leadoff double — Ira in the 11^th and Owen Bishop in the top of the 14^th — only to come up empty. ORU reliever Cade Denton was equal to the task with seven strikeouts over 3 2/3 innings in earning the win. Denton entered the game with runners at second and third with one out in the 11^th and proceeded to strike out the first two Jackrabbit hitters he faced to thwart the would-be rally.

Oral Roberts scored an unearned run in the bottom of the first inning and added a run in the fourth on an RBI single by Holden Breeze. The Golden Eagles doubled their lead to 4-0 in the fifth inning, when Jackson Loftin delivered a two-run single.

Coffey struck out six over seven shutout innings for ORU, while Jackrabbit starter Nic McCay walked four and struck out four in his six innings of work.

ORU finished with an 11-8 advantage in hits. Ira collected three hits for SDSU, while McMurray, Caleb Denny and Loftin each tallied two for the Golden Eagles.

UP NEXT
Game 2 of the three-game series is scheduled for 2 p.m. Saturday

NOTES

Oral Roberts leads the all-time series, 64-19
SDSU dropped to 7-7 in Summit League openers since joining the conference at the start of the 2008 season
Ira's home run was his team-leading fifth of the season
Ryan McDonald had his six-game hitting streak end
Bishop doubled for the third consecutive game
Bourassa's previous career high for strikeouts was 11 in a Feb. 27, 2021, start at Northern Colorado
Friday's game marked the seventh time in the Division I era (since 2005) that the Jackrabbits played a game lasting at least 14 innings, and the first since dropping a 5-4, 14-inning decision at Alabama on March 6, 2019