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| Senior All-American Michael Rockett hit his third home run of the year on Saturday. |
TULSA, Okla. ? Oral Roberts right-handed starter Jerry Sullivan limited UTSA to just one run on one hit, a senior Michael Rockett home run to lead off the fourth, and struck out nine in a dominant seven-inning performance, as the Golden Eagles ran their home winning streak to an NCAA-best 25 games with a 7-2 victory on Saturday at J.L. Johnson Stadium.
The Roadrunners, who had just two hits on the windy, 35-degree afternoon, dropped to 4-3 in losing their second contest in a row, while Oral Roberts extended its perfect run to open the spring to five games.
Sullivan (2-0) was effectively wild in his 118-pitch performance (70 strikes) despite walking four and hitting three batters. He struck out two hitters in each of the first three innings, one in the fourth and another pair in the sixth.
Seth Furmanek put ORU in front with his two-run home run to center with one down in the first frame. Juan Martinez extended the lead to three when he led off the third with a long ball down the right-field line and his homer to right center to lead off the fifth pushed the advantage to 4-1. The Golden Eagles tacked on two more one frame later and another in the seventh to complete their scoring.
Senior southpaw Kris Ruepke (0-2) was charged with the loss after giving up five runs on a half dozen hits and three walks in his five innings of work.
Sophomore right fielder Tyler Carpenter hit his first homer of the year with one down in the ninth off Drew Bowen to close out the scoring.
Tyler Garewel led the Oral Roberts offense with three hits, while Furmanek and Martinez finished the day with two hits and a pair of RBIs.
The Roadrunners will try to salvage a game on Sunday when they send freshman right-hander Clay Schrader (1-0, 2.70 ERA) to the mound. Game time is slated for 1 p.m.