ORU Athletics
Jon Opiela, Assistant Director of Athletic Communications
MACOMB, Ill. – For the first time since March 21, 2017, the Oral Roberts baseball team launched five home runs in a game as the Golden Eagles routed Western Illinois 18-5 in the series finale.
An outstanding start from Matt Gaskins paced the way as the Golden Eagle offense exploded. As Gaskins picked up his first win of the season, the senior fanned five in six innings of work.
Isaac Coffey, Brody Gibson, Ryan Cash, Caleb Denny and Jordan Wiley all took Leatherneck pitching deep in the contest. In the ninth inning, Denny launched a grand slam before Wiley sent a pinch-hit home run over the right field wall for back-to-back jacks. The last time ORU had hit back-to-back home runs was on February 22, 2020 when Blake Hall and Wiley accomplished the feat against Baylor.
Cash, Coffey, Denny, and Gibson all drove in four runs in the game – tying the single-game high by a Golden Eagle this season. With four hits in the game, Cash matched the single-game high this season – A mark in which he posted against North Dakota State last weekend.
Out of the bullpen, Andrew Davis and Adam Scoggins combined for nine strikeouts in three innings of work. Davis posted a career-high six strikeouts, while Scoggins matched his personal-best with three punchouts.
In the sixth inning, the Golden Eagles posted six runs – All of which were unearned. A three-run home run from Gibson and an RBI triple from Cash highlighted the frame that broke the game wide open.
Inside the Box Score
- ORU scored 16 of their 18 runs with two outs.
- Nine different Golden Eagles recorded hits in the game.
- 18 runs was the second highest total for ORU this season. On March 5, the Golden Eagles scored 22 runs on the road against LSU.
- The Golden Eagles posted 15 or more hits for the first time since March 5 against LSU.
- Denny’s grand slam was the first for an ORU player since Anthony Martinez launched one at Purdue Fort Wayne on April 26, 2019.
- With the series win, ORU will head back to Tulsa with a 5-3 record in conference play.
- Cash finished a double shy of the cycle, picking up his first career triple in the sixth inning. In the seventh inning, Cash launched his second home run in as many days as he cleared the scoreboard in left field.
Up Next
Oral Roberts will travel to Norman to take on the University of Oklahoma on Tuesday evening. First pitch from Norman will be at 6:30 pm and all of the action can be heard on the ORU Sports Network.