ORAL ROBERTS UNIVERSITY @ DALLAS BAPTIST
March 6 – March 8 | Dallas, Texas | Horner Ballpark 
 
MULTIMEDIA COVERAGE
Video/Audio: Patriot Broadcasting Network
Livestats: DBU Livestats
Facebook: DBU Athletics
 
SERIES INFORMATION
Dates: March 6 – March 8, 2014
Time: 6:30 PM (Thurs.), 6:30 PM PM (Fri.), 2:00 PM (Sat.)
Stadium: Horner Ballpark (2,000)
Broadcast: Patriot Broadcasting Network
Talent: Reagan Ratcliff, Brendan Smith
 
PROBABLE STARTERS
Thursday, March 6
 
ORU – RHP Kurt Giller (0-2, 6.06 ERA, 16.1 IP, 3 BB, 13 SO)                    
Vs.                                                        
DBU – RHP Paul Voelker (2-0, 1.89 ERA, 19.0 IP, 6 BB, 22 SO)
 
Friday, March 7
 
ORU – RHP Trujillo Guillermo (0-1, 3.66 ERA, 19.2 IP, 5 BB, 16 SO)                    
Vs.
DBU – RHP Cy Sneed (2-1, 3.06 ERA, 17.2 IP, 6 BB, 14 SO)
 
Saturday, March 8
 
ORU – RHP Gavin Glanz (1-1, 1.53 ERA, 17.2 IP, 4 BB, 4 SO)                    
Vs.
DBU – TBA
 
THE LEAD – The Dallas Baptist Baseball Team returns to Horner Ballpark after a lengthy, five hour affair Tuesday night at Fort Worth, Texas at TCU. The Patriot Baseball squad fell to the No. 21 Horn Frogs, after challenging the ranked opponent through 15 innings.  
 
DBU (9-3) continues to boast one of its hottest starts in program history since becoming Division I, and hopes to increase that record at a venue it has been successful at thus far on the campaign.
 
The Patriots open a three-game series versus Oral Roberts tonight at 6:30 PM and will also host Brigham Young University on March 10. DBU is 7-0 at the friendly confines of Horner Ballpark after sweeping the University of Pennsylvania last weekend.
 
This four-game home stand expands a stretch of five games in seven days for a Patriots Baseball Team that has been in a lot of tight contests, as well as some that involved extra innings.
  
MOST RECENT ACTION – Playing their second extra inning game a week later, the Patriots battled No. 21 TCU in a deadlock until the 15^th frame. A pair of errors in the bottom half by DBU, including an errant throw by third baseman, Nash Knight, concluded a tough match-up that resulted in a loss for the road club.
 
DBU held the Horn Frogs close most of the evening, with neither squad tallying a run until the bottom of the third. TCU would tack on a run over the next two frames to open a 3-0 edge before the Patriots' offense answered.
 
In the top of the 6th, senior, Mike Wesolowski, recorded a single to left field to begin the four-run frame. The next batter, sophomore, Austin Listi, sent a 3-2 pitch over the left field wall to cut the deficit to 3-2. The third consecutive hit for a Patriot batter, which was a single by sophomore, Daniel Salters, would chase TCU starter Jordan Kipper.
 
Redshirt sophomore, Justin Wall, greeted Trey Teakell with another single that advanced Salters to third base and still nobody was out. The next pair of runs occurred in unconventional ways as a failed pickoff attempt brought the first run in. Wall scampered to third  on the play and would later give DBU a 4-3 advantage by scoring on a passed ball.
 
One the strengths for the Patriots early in the campaign has been their bullpen. The relief corps were already stretch out in this contest as junior, Jay Calhoun, was making his first start of the year.  
 
However, the pen pieced together 4.1 innings of shutout ball and scattered just four hits. Sophomore, Joseph Shaw, allowed TCU to knot the affair in the bottom of the ninth 4-4. The native of Ennis, Texas, kept his club in the game on the road, tossing three innings altogether and fanning three batters.
 
Sophomore, Cory Taylor, took over after and logged a team-high four innings. The righty escaped trouble in many of the extra frames, working around three hits and five walks.
 
KEY PLAYERS – Wesolowski remains the top batter on the squad, carrying a team-best, eight-game hitting streak into the weekend series. The Mesa, Arizona, native has gone 15-for-36 during the span. The senior has also reached base safely in all 12 contests this year.
 
The first baseman picked up two hits and scored once in Tuesday's setback. Wesolowski has now scored at least once in five consecutive affairs and sits tied for third with 13 in that category. He boasts a team-leading .391 average and is tied for third with 11 RBI on the club.
 
In Saturday's nightcap last weekend against Penn, the hot slugger rocked a game-winning, two-run double to complete a comeback victory and sweep at home for the Patriots.  
 
Freshman, Camden Duzenack remains one of the top hitters on the club, contributing a .347 clip and 17 total hits for second. The first week National Player of the Week continues to notch the leader spot in Runs Batted In with 16. A native of Melissa, Texas, Duzenack has logged hits in the past two contests.
 
Salters has posted the third highest batting average with a .319 clip, and has totaled 15 hits which also is third on the team. Six of the sophomore's eight games he has tallied a hit have counted as multi-hit performances. His season-high was a three-hit day against Mississippi Valley State on Feb. 16. The catcher also belted his first homer and tacked on a trio of RBI for a season best in the victory.
 
Making just his fourth start, freshman, David Martinelli, strung together a team-high three hits in the marathon game at TCU on Tuesday. The outfielder has compiled a .286 batting average in 10 games for DBU. He does have a home run and three RBI, and picked up a double in Tuesday's match-up.
 
Swinging a .375 batting average, with three multi-hit performances, in the past four contests is Wall. The Fort Worth, Texas, native has logged a .291 average and 8 of his 9 total RBI at Horner Ballpark.
 
ON THE BUMP – The Patriots have established a tough pitching presence in the early part of the year. Through 114.2 innings, DBU hurlers have allowed 46 runs, 35 earned, to compile a 2.75 ERA. In addition, the Patriots lead the Missouri Valley Conference with 121 punch outs.
 
Leading the rotation is junior, Paul Voelker. He's earned the nod in every series opener, although the Patriots have yet to officially release the rotation for the upcoming three-game set. The native of Plymouth, Minnesota, has been effective in all three starts. He's boasted a team-high 19 innings and has cruised through 7 innings in the past pair of appearances.
 
At Horner Ballpark, the right hander has tallied 12 innings and allowed three runs on nine hits, while sitting down 16 opposing batters via strikeout combined. In last Friday's start versus Penn, Voelker surrendered three runs through seven innings, but did keep the club in the contest. DBU eventually came from behind and walked off in the final inning.
 
Also adding quality innings to the Patriot rotation this year is junior, Cy Sneed. In his latest appearance, Sneed scattered four hits and allowed a season-low two earned runs in six innings to Penn.
 
He has been consistent, allowing two earned runs in all three of his starts on the campaign. In his debut, three runs were given up by him, but one was unearned. The Patriots offense has been kind to him, pouring on 19 runs in two of his starts early in the season.
 
Leading the relievers are redshirt senior, Josh Urban, and sophomore, Brandon Koch, with six appearances on the mound. Urban has compiled a team-best 0.79 ERA through 11.1 innings and fanned 15 guys. Koch leads relievers with 17 strikeouts and has been effective at working the late innings with eight completed.

Sophomore, Sean Stutzman, has also been effective in a long-relief role, combining for 6.1 innings and posting a 1.42 ERA. He earned a save in a route versus Penn after throwing the final three innings of shutout ball and allowing two hits. His efforts saved a worn out bullpen at the time.
 
SCOUTING THE GOLDEN EAGLES – Oral Roberts (6-5) has won four in a row, including a four-game sweep last weekend versus Harvard University. ORU has only played three contests on the road, dropping a three-game set at Texas Tech a couple weeks ago.
 
In the latest match-ups, ORU was able to win all four decisions by two runs or less. On the campaign, the Golden Eagles have been involved in nine finals that were decided by no more than three-runs. The club is 2-2 in games dictated by only a run.
 
Matt Brandy paces the offense for the Golden Eagles, tallying a .400 batting average and is leading the squad with 16 hits and nine RBI.
 
Brandon Healy also boasts an average over .300, swinging the bat at a .355 clip and is second with a .429 slugging percentage. Emmanuel Forcier adds a .293 average with one of the team's three triples and is tied for second in hits knocking 12.
 
ORU's pitching staff has combined to post a 3.43 ERA and opponents are hitting .275 against the Golden Eagle arms.
 
Leading the rotation is Saturday's starter, Gavin Glanz. He enters posting a 1.53 ERA in 17.2 innings while allowing the opposition to bat just .226. Glanz pitches to a lot of contact, only grabbing four strikeouts through three starts thus far.
 
Trujillo Guillermo has logged the most innings on the club, throwing 19.2 through three appearances, all counting as starts. He also has a team-high 16 strikeouts on the year.
 
Pair of bullpen arms, Jordan Romano, and Nathan Garza, have done well posting 0.00 ERA in relief situations. Romano has strung together 5.2 shutout innings, giving up three hits, walking one, and fanning six batters. He's also earned two of the team's three saves.
 
SERIES HISTORY – The programs have met 27 times on the diamond, with DBU holding the all-time record 15-12. The Patriots swept the lone series last year at Tulsa, Oklahoma, in three contests (4-2, 8-3, 13-6). Under Head Coach Dan Heefner, the club is 8-4 versus the Golden Eagles. DBU has won the previous five meetings, including two match-ups in the NCAA Regionals in 2011 and 2012.
 
In the 4-2 opener, both squads clubbed seven hits, but DBU prevailed with a run in the eighth and ninth innings. Listi went 2-for-4 and belted a homer, while junior, Nash Knight, also added a multi-hit day with two singles and an RBI.  
 
Sneed was effective in the 8-3 victory, going 6 innings and giving up two runs in the winning affair. Wall had a pair of hits and RBI's while Listi added a hit and RBI to go along with two walks.
Wrapping up the sweep that weekend was another big offensive day as both squads tallied double-digits in the hit column. Up 7-6 in the top of the eighth inning, the Patriots put the game out of reach with a six-run frame.
 
Wall had another big day, pounding a game-high four hits, including a solo homer in the seventh to put DBU in front for good. Listi sent a two-run shot over the fence in the explosive inning later, which also scored Wall for the third time in the win.
 
This series marks the first time ORU will play the Patriots in Horner Ballpark.
 
UPCOMING SCHEDULE – Dallas Baptist completes its four-game set versus Brigham Young University on March 10 at 3 PM. The Patriots will begin a four-game road trip on March 14-16 at Missouri State University. Times for first pitch are slated at 3:05 PM on Friday, 2:05 PM on Saturday, and 1:05 PM on Sunday.
 
The trio of affairs counts as the first MVC contests for DBU in school history. After the conference games, the Patriots will wrap-up the trip at the University of Texas on March 18.