Mavericks Take On the Reigning Champs at ORU

Friday, May 3

Tulsa, Okla.

3 p.m.

Omaha

Oral Roberts

Photo by: Garrett Hawkins

Mavericks Take On the Reigning Champs at ORU

May 2, 2024 | Baseball

Game Notes

Leading Off
The Mavericks (14-24-1, 12-8-1) will look to take their second series of the season from the reigning conference champions as they play three at Oral Roberts (17-26-1, 7-12-1) this weekend.

Upcoming Schedule
Friday: 3 p.m. at Oral Roberts at J.L. Johnson Stadium
Friday: 6 p.m. at Oral Roberts at J.L. Johnson Stadium
Saturday: 6 p.m. at Oral Roberts at J.L. Johnson Stadium

Around the Horn

Omaha won its fifth straight series last week after taking two from NDSU and tying the third game due to weather. The Mavericks began the week with a close loss at K-State too.
The five straight series victories tie the 2024 Mavericks with the 2019 and 2016 squads for the longest series winning streak in the Division I era.
For the third time this season and second week in a row, Omaha swept the Summit League weekly honors with Matt Goetzmann earning his first Peak Performer award and Luke Gainer getting his first Peak Pitcher award. Goetzmann extended his hitting streak to 11 straight games and going 8-for-14 (.571) with five RBIs and four runs scored, while Gainer threw four shutout innings across Saturday and Sunday, allowing one hit and striking out six.
Drew Lechnir continues to swing a hot bat as he now owns the highest average on the team and eighth highest in the league (.338). He hit .400 last week and clubbed his fourth home run of the season.
Zach Lechnir's doubles streak ended in game two last Saturday at five consecutive games. During this run he batted 9-for-16 (.563).
Jackson Trout had a pair of multi-hit games in Saturday's doubleheader. In game two, he hit his second homer of the season in the top of the third to put Omaha in front for good.
Since March 1, Cooper Prososki has not allowed a single earned run through eight straight appearances. In that span he has only allowed 2 hits.
In just his second appearance of the season, Tyler Mattingley earned the first save of his career on Saturday, tossing a scoreless ninth at NDSU with a pair of strikeouts.
Over the final two weeks of April, Omaha's three weekend starters Charlie Bell, Caleb Riedel, and Harrison Kreiling combined for a 2.70 ERA and 37 strikeouts in 33.1 innings across six starts.
Maverick pitchers combined for another 37 strikeouts last week, good for 9.8 K/9. Omaha's staff leads the entire conference with 353 strikeouts.
In their first meeting with ORU this season, Omaha took two of three at Tal Anderson Field, falling 1-0 in game one before coming out on top 6-5 in game two and 3-0 in game three. Bell and Riedel each went at least 6.2 innings and did not allow an earned run, while Tyler Bishop, Cardel Dick, and Grant Sommers each drove in two runs.

Scouting Oral Roberts
ORU remains in last place in the Summit League at 17-26-1 with a 7-12-1 mark in league play, including a 1-2 record against Omaha this season.

The Golden Eagles' top offensive threat remains senior infielder Holden Breeze, who leads the team and ranks in the league's top 10 in average (.364), OPS (.961), and home runs (six), as well as leading the whole conference with 60 hits. Fellow senior Alex Rodgers is first in the Summit in doubles (13) and walks (31), while junior outfielder Elijah Rodriguez is second in the league in runs (42) and senior infielder Drew Stahl is third in RBIs (44).

ORU starter Jakob Hall has shaved more than a run and a half off his ERA since his last meeting with Omaha (4.26 ERA), improving to 6-2 and currently ranking second in the conference with 74 strikeouts in the process. He is ORU's only starter with an ERA below 5.50, though, Brooks Fowler is close (5.79) and is fourth in strikeouts (59). Out of the bullpen, Caleb Isaacs and Jared Ure pace the team in appearances (39 total, 69.2 IP) and strikeouts (67), while Conner Floyd and Dalton Patten own the best ERAs at 2.03 and 3.63, respectively.

Head Coach Ryan Folmar is in his 12th season leading the Golden Eagles and 21st overall with the program including his time as an assistant coach. During his career, Folmar has helped lead ORU to 16 NCAA Tournament appearances (six as head coach), including their first trip to the CWS since 1978 last year. He has also been named Summit League Coach of the Year six times.