FAYETTEVILLE -- After Oral Roberts University suffered its first shutout of the season against the Arkansas Razorbacks on Friday night, the Golden Eagles came up with plenty of timely hits to eliminate Oklahoma State from the Fayetteville NCAA Regional.
Oral Roberts beat Oklahoma State 14-6 Saturday at Baum Stadium to stay alive and play in another elimination game today.
The Golden Eagles (43-15) had 16 hits, including a three-run home run by left fielder Michael Hungate.
"They were hitting sliders in the dirt, opposite field, 0-2," Oklahoma State senior center fielder Ryan Sluder said. "They were doing things with the bat I just haven't seen my whole career. So props to them."
Oral Roberts was 8 for 17 with runners in scoring position against the Cowboys (30-27) after being 0 for 8 in a 3-0 loss to the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville.
"We just grinded at-bats out better and swung at better pitchers," Golden Eagles center fielder Noah Cummings said. "It felt good."
Oklahoma State Coach Josh Holliday praised the Golden Eagles' hitting, but he said a big reason their offense was so much better Saturday was because they weren't facing Arkansas pitcher Trevor Stephan.
Stephan held Oral Roberts to 4 hits and 3 walks with 12 strikeouts in 7⅓ innings.
"The dude pitching against them from what I could see was throwing gas and throwing good gas," Holliday said. "Seeing 95 miles an hour, well located, isn't easy to hit any day.
"I think last night a guy took the mound in his own ballpark and pitched one heck of a game, and that was that game. Today was a new day, and they did a great job."
Oral Roberts scored seven runs with two-out hits.
"I'm proud of the way our guys can take a game like last night and put it aside and move forward," Golden Eagles Coach Ryan Folmar said. "I think that has a lot to do with leadership on your team.
"There was no carryover from last night going into today."
Eight Golden Eagles had at least one hit against Oklahoma State, led by Hungate (4 for 5 with 5 RBI), Cummings (2 for 5 with 3 runs), shortstop Dylan Snypes (2 for 4 with 3 runs and 2 RBI) and first baseman Brent Williams (2 for 5 with 2 runs).
"I think whenever you score that many runs, there are a lot of factors that go into it," Folmar said. "Obviously, our guys made really good swings.
"I thought we were really good inside the strike zone. We didn't foul many pitches off. You look back at last night's game, and I thought we got some pitches to handle and fouled a bunch of them off."
Cummings said Stephan was a tough pitcher to face, but Oral Roberts played better offensively Saturday.
"He was good," Cummings said. "You've got to tip your hat every once in a while. I think we were kind of giving away at-bats at the same time."
Tyler Buffett, the second of six Oklahoma State pitchers Saturday, said the Golden Eagles are a tough team to face.
"They just know how to hit," he said. "We didn't make the pitches we needed to, but they're a good-hitting team."
The Golden Eagles went 3-1 against the Cowboys this season.
"I think we've played them 14 times since I've been here, and they're a good ballclub," said Buffett, a senior. "They could compete in any Power 5 conference."
Oral Roberts is the regional's No. 4 seed. Arkansas Coach Dave Van Horn said the Golden Eagles deserved to be seeded higher, and Holliday agreed.
"They're not a 4 seed," Holliday said. "That's a joke. I mean, they're probably easily a 3 and with the talent of their team they could very well be a 2.
"But they're not a 4 seed, I'll assure you of that."
Folmar said he appreciated Van Horn and Holliday's comments, but he's not focused on his team's low seed.
"We don't get to choose where we go," Folmar said. "Whether you're a 1, 2, 3 or a 4, you've got to beat good people. That's something everybody else can talk about and stew on.
"Ultimately, it just comes down to playing well. It doesn't matter what seed you are."
Sports on 06/04/2017