Tulsa, Okla.- The Golden Eagles fell to Wichita State in their home opener 10-3.
Wichita State (1-3) got out to an early start and never looked back, scoring four runs in the first-inning, three in the fourth and three in the sixth. Catcher Ryan Hege led the way for the Shockers, going 3-4 with five RBI. Don Lambert was 1-2 with four RBI.
Shockers' starter Kris Gardner (1-0) went four innings allowing just one hit with four strikeouts and no earned runs.
ORU (0-4) dropped its second consecutive home game to Wichita State, and could not put together a rally after falling behind by seven runs by the fourth-inning.
Jared Schlehuber had a good day at the plate, going 1-2 with his first home run of the season coming in the seventh-inning to go along with two walks. He is now batting .333 on the season.
Starter Joe Spring (0-2) allowed four runs on seven hits with two strikeouts in three innings of work.
The Golden Eagles fell behind early when Lambert hit a three-run home run to put Wichita State in the lead 4-0 with two outs in the first.
The Shockers got three more in the fourth-inning when relief pitcher Mike Torrence loaded the bases and walked in one run, then a double by Hage off Dan Martony scored two more to make it 7-0 in the fourth.
The Golden Eagles cut into the lead when Jake O'Brian scored Nate Goro as a pinch hitter in the fifth to make it 7-1.
Hege extended the lead for the Shockers with a three-run home run in the 6th off newcomer Tim ZuFall making it 10-1.
Schlehuber's solo home run came in the seventh-inning and cut the lead to 10-2, and the Golden Eagles threatened again in the eight by loading the bases with no outs, but could only scrape across one run when Kevin Cho hit into a double play that scored O'Brian.
The Golden Eagles will continue their homestand with a three-game series against Eastern Michigan starting Friday, February 24 at 3 p.m.
