SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Oral Roberts captured its eighth-straight win behind the pitching of Logan Michaels and four relievers who combined to hold Missouri State to a season-low four hits in a 3-1 victory over the Bears at Hammons Field Tuesday evening.
Michaels (3-1) fanned a career-best eight hitters and allowed just a single unearned run on three hits over 6.0 frames, before the ORU bullpen locked down the win with three more shutout innings.
Matt Whatley went 2-for-3 on the night and drew a bases-loaded walk to force home the tying run as part of the Golden Eagles (17-7) two-run third that saw the visitors erase a 1-0 deficit. Noah Cummings followed with a sacrifice fly to left off MSU starter
Austin Knight to plate the go-ahead tally.
ORU added a run in the fourth as well, capitalizing on back-to-back singles from Trevor McCutchin and Michael Hungate, as well as a balk call on Knight, to push its lead to 3-1 on Cal Hernandez's RBI grounder.
Michaels cruised after the Bears scored first on
Aaron Meyer's second-inning double that brought home
Justin Paulsen from second. The right-hander would allow just two more hits over his final four innings, before Taylor Varnell worked 1 2/3 hitless innings and Bill Lovvorn closed out an eighth-inning threat with a key strikeout of
Jake Burger with a man on first.
MSU mounted a last-ditch rally in the ninth with Paulsen's second hit of the game and a walk to
Jeremy Eierman that brought the go-ahead run to the plate with nobody out. But Kyler Stout wrapped up his third save of the year by inducing a 4-6-3 double-play ball from Myer, then coaxing a game-ending fly ball to left off the bat of
Drew Millas.
ORU became the first MSU opponent in 2017 to keep Burger off base, as the junior All-American saw his career-best 14-game hit streak come to an end with an 0-for-4 night.
Paulsen led the Bears' attack, going 2-for-2 with a pair of walks, while Meyer accounted for the only other MSU hits with a 2-for-4 night.
Knight (2-1) suffered his first setback of the season, despite working his second-straight quality start. The righty allowed three runs on just four hits, while walking four and striking out a pair of Golden Eagles.
Up next, Missouri State (15-9) opens Missouri Valley Conference play Friday (March 31) with an 8 p.m. game against Bradley.
