Courtesy: ORU Media Relations T.J. Kelly worked a perfect 10th in collecting his 10th save on Saturday.
LINCOLN, Neb. -- Brendan Duffy hit the eventual game-winning RBI single in the top of the 10th and T.J. Kelly recorded his 10th save of the year to help lead Oral Roberts University to a 8-7 win over Eastern Illinois in the elimination game of the NCAA Lincoln Regional, Saturday at Hawks Field.
Duffy’s two-out run-scoring single to center field plated Ryan Groth in the top of the 10th inning. The two-out RBI was the sixth of the game for ORU and gave the Golden Eagles their third lead of the day.
However, this time Eastern Illinois was unable to mount a rally as Kelly came in and worked a perfect 10th. The right-handed closer sealed the deal by striking out two Panthers sandwiched around a groundout to collect his 10th save of the season.
ORU improved to 47-13 overall and will now play Nebraska tomorrow at 1:05 p.m. The ORU-Nebraska game tomorrow at 1:05 p.m. (CDT) will be broadcasted live nationally on CBS College Sports (formerly CSTV). Eastern Illinois saw their season end with a 27-30 mark.
With the game entering the ninth at 6-all, ORU grabbed a 7-6 lead in the top of the ninth off a two-out RBI single to left field by Ben Petralli.
The lead was short lived, however, as Eastern Illinois was able to push across a run in the bottom of the ninth. The Panthers looked like they won the game when Richie Derbak hit a hard shot down the right field line with runners on second and third, but a diving attempt by first baseman David Genao on the ground ball ended the Panther threat and sent the game into extra-innings.
Unlike last night, ORU jumped out to an early lead by plating two runs in the top of the first. Kelly Minissale registered the first hit for the Golden Eagles with a single down the left field line. After Minissale advanced on a Tyler Kehrer wild pitch, Brian Van Kirk drew a walk and then Genao drew first blood with a hard-hit RBI single up the middle. Juan Martinez followed Genao’s base hit with a RBI single of his own as Van Kirk raced around from second to score ORU’s second run.
ORU tacked on two more runs in the second inning, all with two-outs. Duffy reached base after getting hit in the back by a Kehrer pitch then Minissale drew a walk. A Kehrer balk advanced the runners to second and third then Petralli drove in Duffy and Minissale with a single up the middle.
Ryan Groth belted a double down the right field line to score Genao in the third as ORU led 5-0.
Back-to-back hits by EIU off Jerry Sullivan in the bottom of the third resulted in the Panthers trimming the Golden Eagles lead to 5-1.
The Golden Eagles increased their lead to 6-1 when Genao drove in his second run of the day on a RBI single to the gap in right center.
Sullivan ran into trouble in the fifth, allowing a pair of home runs and loading the bases before getting relieved by Carlos Luna. Luna, making his first relief appearance since April 22, entered the ball game in a bases-loaded, one out jam but ORU was able to stop the bleeding after a RBI single by Jordan Kreke. On the Kreke single, ORU was able to get Eastern Illinois’ Tristan Facer out after Facer made a base-running mistake.
Luna improved to a perfect 13-0, allowing just one earned runs in 4.1 innings of relief.
Sullivan last 4.2 innings, allowing seven hits and five runs while striking out four.
Courtesy: ORU Media Relations
