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ORU Play Host to No. 7 Arkansas on Tuesday Night
04/20/2009
 The Oral Roberts University baseball team looks to continue its nine-game winning streak at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday night against No. 7 Arkansas at J.L. Johnson Stadium. Live stats and audio will be available at www.orugoldeneagles.com
First Pitch
The Golden Eagles (21-9) play host to No. 7 Arkansas at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday night at J.L. Johnson Stadium. ORU has won nine straight contests and is coming off of a four-game sweep of Centenary. Arkansas leads the all-time series dating back to the 1970 season by a 60-35-1 advantage. The Golden Eagles won both contests against Arkansas last season.
Scouting the Razorbacks
Arkansas enters Tuesday’s contest with a 26-11 record and a No. 7 national ranking. The Razorbacks have dropped five of their last seven contests, including two out of three at No. 1 Georgia over the weekend. Chase Leavitt leads the Razorbacks in batting average at .347, while Andy Wilkins has posted 10 doubles, 11 homers and 30 RBI for a slugging percentage of .667. The Razorbacks will start freshman left-hander Drew Smyly, who has compiled a 2-1 record with a 4.55 ERA in nine appearances and eight starts this season. Smyly has allowed 30 hits and struck out 26 batters with 16 walks in 29.2 innings pitched.
Last Time Out
ORU swept Centenary in a four-game series in a battle for the top spot in the Summit League standings over the weekend to improve to 11-0 in conference play and 21-9 overall. Jerry Sullivan led the Golden Eagles in the first contest, allowing two earned runs in 8.0 innings with nine strikeouts. Seth Furmanek, Michael Notaro and Johnny Roberts all chipped in three RBI apiece in the 11-2 victory. Andre Lamontagne earned the win in game two, with Spencer Roberts and Chandler Griffin adding three scoreless innings of relief. Notaro drove in three more runs along with a three-RBI performance from Colby Price. Mark Serrano pushed his record to 7-0 with the win in game one on Sunday, while T.J. Kelly picked up his fourth save of the season. In game two, junior Jeff Burleson came on in relief in the third inning, and gave up a two-run homer to the first batter he faced before striking out the side to end the inning and retiring the next 10 out of 12 batters. Burleson went 7.0 innings, striking out 12 with one walk and one run on four hits. P.J. Sequeira led the offense in the four games, posting a .667 average (10-of-15).
ORU Makes Huge Leap in RPI
The Golden Eagles jumped over fourty spots to No. 45 in Boyd’s World’s latest psuedo RPI numbers. ORU is the highest ranked school in the Summit League, with the next closest at No. 148 (Centenary). Nine of ORU’s opponents this season are ranked in the top 100, with Cal State Fullerton ranked the highest at No. 3. Rice is ranked No. 5, with Texas (No. 7), Arkansas (No. 8), Washington State (No. 51), Dallas Baptist (No. 54), Missouri State (No. 79), UT-Arlington (No. 83) and Notre Dame (No. 97) rounding out teams in the top 100.
Fanning the Opposition
The ORU pitching staff is on a record-breaking pace so far this season with 313 strikeouts in 261.2 innings pitched. The Golden Eagle hurlers are averaging 10.7 strikeouts per nine innings, which ranks second in the NCAA. The 10.7 mark is on pace to shatter the previous bests in the five years under Rob Walton (8.1 - 2008, 8.8 - 2007, 7.7 - 2006, 7.5 - 2005, 6.9 - 2004). Mark Serrano leads the team with 71 strikeouts in 51.0 innings pitched, which ranks seventh nationally with a 12.6 strikeouts per nine innings mark. Fellow starters Jerry Sullivan and Andre Lamontagne have posted 55 and 46 punchouts this season, respectively. The three starters combine for a 3.23 ERA this season and a 10.7 strikeouts per nine innings figure. All three have posted games with at least 13 strikeouts, as Serrano fanned a career-high 13 batters against Wichita State in a game where the ORU hurlers combined for 21 strikeouts, which was a Wichita State record. Lamontagne set a personal-best with 13 punchouts against IPFW, while Sullivan earned Summit League Pitcher of the Week honors on Monday after fanning a career-high 16 batters against South Dakota State.
Countdown to Win No. 250
ORU skipper Rob Walton has earned a 242-87 record since taking over the reigns of the program in 2004. Walton has averaged 44 wins and 16 losses in his five seasons at ORU, with one 50-win season (2004) and four 40-win seasons. Only two other coaches in ORU history have recorded 250 or more wins, as Larry Cochell (1977-86) posted 428 victories and Sunny Golloway (1996-2003) earned 335 wins. Walton would be the fastest to reach the 250-win mark, as Cochell achieved the feat four games into his seventh season, while Golloway reached the number six games into his seventh year.
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