20120529_oru_earns_fourth_seed_in_waco_regional
ORU Earns Fourth Seed in Waco Regional
Oral Roberts University has earned a No. 4 seed and will face top seed Baylor on Friday,
June 1 in the Waco Regional of the 2012 NCAA Division I Baseball Championship, it
was announced today. First pitch is scheduled for 6 pm CT at Baylor Ballpark in Waco,
Texas.
Second-seeded Dallas Baptist and third-seeded UT-Arlington will face off on the other
side of the double-elimination bracket, with their game scheduled for 1 pm CT on Friday.
The Waco Regional will not be televised, but fans can watch a free video stream of
each game at BaylorBears.com. Free audio of all ORU games is available in the Tulsa
area on KYAL-AM 1550 and around the world at ORUAthletics.com
ORU (37-23) earned their Regional bid by capturing last week’s Summit League Championship
in Tulsa, the program’s 15th consecutive conference title. Summit League Player of
the Year
Jared Schlehuber
clubbed a game-winning two-run homer in Saturday’s 4-3 clinching victory, while League
Pitcher of the Year and Tournament MVP
Drew Bowen
pitched 2.1 innings of relief to earn his first career save.
The Golden Eagles are no stranger to Baylor (44-14), having faced the Bears three
times to open the 2012 campaign. Baylor swept that February series and went on to
win 29 of their 32 home games during the regular season. The Bears are the No. 4 overall
seed in the 64-team tournament and enter the competition on a 22-game home winning
streak.
Head Coach
Rob Walton
’s
club is also familiar with Dallas Baptist (39-17), having faced the Patriots twice
in last season’s Fort Worth Regional. The Golden Eagles staved off elimination with
a 7-2 victory over DBU before falling in a winner-take-all final game, 11-9.
The Golden Eagles last played UT-Arlington (36-23) on April 6, 2012, taking a 7-4
win in Arlington. All-Summit League catcher
Bennett Pickar
is the only current Golden Eagle to have faced the Mavericks.
ORU has qualified for an NCAA Regional in each of the past 15 seasons and has won
at least one regional game in each of the last four seasons. The Golden Eagles last
advanced to the Super Regional round in 2006, and they last appeared in the College
World Series in 1978.
2012 WACO REGIONAL GAMES
Game One: Friday (6/1) - No. 2 Dallas Baptist vs. No. 3 UT Arlington, 1 pm
Game Two: Friday (6/1) - No. 1 [4] Baylor vs. No. 4 Oral Roberts, 6 pm
Game Three: Saturday (6/2) - Game One loser vs. Game Two loser, 2 pm
Game Four: Saturday (6/2) - Game One winner vs. Game Two winner, 7 pm
Game Five: Sunday (6/3) - Game Three winner vs. Game Four loser, 2 pm
Game Six: Sunday (6/3) - Game Four winner vs. Game Five winner, 7 pm
Game Seven (if necessary): Monday (6/4) - Game Four winner vs. Game Six winner, 6:30
pm