Pitcher Damien Magnifico got Oklahoma's current four game winning streak rolling last Tuesday with a masterful shutout performance over then #9 Arkansas. Now the Sooners will be looking to him to continue the streak as he takes the mound against Oral Roberts University in Tulsa. Meanwhile the Golden Eagles will be looking for a bit of redemption after falling to the Sooners 5-2 on March 27th.
Magnifico's performance against Arkansas earned him his first win of the season and a 1-0 record as a starter. Through 25.2 innings of work this season he's surrendered 12 runs off 22 hits while also striking out 17 batters. His ERA currently stands at 3.16 and he seems to have found his niche as a starter (with a strong outing against Oregon State earlier in the season) rather than a closer or middle reliever.
He'll be going up against an ORU offense that sports a team batting average of .257. They are led in batting by Jared Schlehuber who is batting .309 and has a team high 9 home runs and 22 RBIs. In the previous game against the Sooners he went 0-4 from the plate. Cam Schiller (.290 BA) leads the Golden Eagles in RBIs with 31. He wend 1-5 in the previous meeting with the Sooners.
ORU has yet to name a starting pitcher but whoever it is they will have to face an Oklahoma team that seems to be building some confidence from the plate. Erik Ross' batting average has risen to .358 to pace five Sooners who are batting .308 or better. Hunter Lockwood (.275 BA) continues to lead the team in RBIs by a narrow 31 to 30 margin over Max White. Lockwood also leads all Big XII batters with nine home runners. In the previous meeting this year against ORU, Lockwood went yard in the third inning.
The game's first pitch is scheduled for 6:30 tonight.
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