ORU caps comeback with win

[ORUalum]

Aguailar scores the winning run in the 10th inning on a wild pitch.

Oral Roberts has won the past eight Mid-Continent Conference Baseball Championships, and has only lost one game in Mid-Con tournament play. In fact, they have not lost a conference tournament game in almost six years.

Judging by the game Thursday night, they don't plan on letting either streak be broken without a fight.

After tying the game in the eighth inning on a controversial play, Golden Eagles designated hitter Brian Aguailar managed to score from second on a wild pitch in the bottom of the 10th inning, giving top-seeded ORU a come-from-behind 5-4 victory over fourth-seeded Centenary at J.L. Johnson Stadium.

"That is a real tough way to lose," ORU head coach Rob Walton said. "(Centenary) played really well tonight. They deserved better."

With two outs and runners on first and second in the 10th, a pitch from Gents' reliever Kris Calhoun got away from catcher Alex Maldonado and rolled to the backstop. While Maldonado looked around for the baseball, Aguailar turned the corner at third and scored the game-winning run with a head-first slide.

"As I was running to third, I saw that the catcher didn't find the ball at first," said Aguailar, who finished 1-for-4 on the night. "So, I got the signal from coach and just kept on going."

The Golden Eagles fell behind early, as the Gents jumped on ORU starting pitcher Nick Jones. Centenary first baseman Justin Darr scored on a passed ball, and Maldonado drove in another run on an RBI single in the fourth. In the fifth, Darr drove in a run on a single, and Centenary third baseman Jimmy Baker added an RBI single to put the Gents up 4-0.

But ORU stormed back, getting on the scoreboard with a solo home run by Carter McQuigg in the sixth inning. The major damage was done in the seventh inning, as right fielder Brendan Duffy singled home a run, and later scored on a fielding error to make it a 4-3 game.

When asked what the comeback means to his team for the future, ORU head coach Rob Walton said, "We'll see what this means. We haven't played from behind much this year, and so winning a game like this gives you an opportunity to build some character."

Aguailar saw the game as a chance for the team to re-evaluate and get back to its natural form.

"We were a little excited at the beginning, and that's normal," Aguailar said. "We had some bad at-bats, and we got down early. But hopefully, this will be a wake-up call."

Controversy arose with one out in the bottom of the eighth. With the tying run for ORU at third base in the form of McQuigg and the infield pulled in, pinch-hitter Travis DeBondt grounded the ball to second. Centenary second baseman Robbie Knowles checked McQuigg at third, and fired to Darr at first base.

But DeBondt collided with Darr, knocking the first baseman to the ground. McQuigg then took off for home and scored the tying run. Centenary head coach Ed McCann argued the call with first base umpire Scott Taylor, but the play, and the newly tied score, stood. ORU and Western Illinois, who defeated Oakland 9-6, will play at 3:30 p.m. Friday in the winners bracket.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

MID-CONTINENT SCHEDULE

Mid-Continent Tournament

At ORU's J.L. Johnson Stadium

THURSDAY

Game 1: No. 2 Western Illinois 9, No. 3 Oakland 6

Game 2: No. 1 Oral Roberts 5, No. 4 Centenary 4

FRIDAY

Game 3: Oakland vs. Centenary, noon

Game 4: Western Illinois vs. Oral Roberts, 3:30 p.m.

Game 5: Winner game 3 vs. Loser game 4, 7 p.m.

SATURDAY

Game 6: Winner game 4 vs. Winner game 5, 1 p.m.

Game 7: Winner game 6 vs. Loser game 6, 30 min. following game 6 (If necessary)

http://www.tulsaworld.com/SportsStory.asp?ID=060526_Sp_B1_ORUca56939