Eagles Pummel Leathernecks (TW)

[praetorfenix86]

By GREG TEPPER World Sports Writer

5/27/2006

The win puts ORU into the Mid-Con tournament championship final today.

Baseball is in Brendan Duffy's blood.

The Oral Roberts outfielder, who helped spark the Golden Eagles' 21-2 rout of Western Illinois on Friday, is the brother of Pittsburgh Pirates' minor leaguer Chris Duffy.

"I talk to him almost every day," said Duffy, who smiles when his brother's name is mentioned. "He's taught me to have a good mental approach to the game, that you won't succeed every time, but if you keep a good mental attitude, you'll do fine."

The advice is paying off for Brendan and the Golden Eagles.

Duffy reached base six times in six plate appearances and drove in three runs in ORU's win, that put the Eagles in the championship round of the Mid-Continent Conference tournament.

Golden Eagles starting pitcher and Chris Ashman shut out the Leathernecks for seven innings, holding them to only two hits. The conference leader in wins also struck out five batters while walking two.

But the ORU offense took center stage Friday, fueled by sophomore leadoff hitter Duffy. He singled three times, drew two walks and was hit by a pitch, managing to reach base five times in the first five innings while also scoring three runs.

Duffy, who ranked second in the Mid-Con in on-base percentage this season, said his role on the team is simple.

"I'm supposed to get on base," Duffy said. "My job is to get on base and score runs."

Scoring runs has not been a problem for Duffy. He scored 59 runs this season, crossing the plate an average of 1.31 times per game, a statistic that leads the Mid-Con and ranks seventh in the NCAA.

ORU head coach Rob Walton said Duffy is an important asset to the team and the offense depends heavily on its leadoff hitter.

"He's one of the toughest outs in the lineup," Walton said after the game. "What makes him such a good player is his approach to the game. He battles every time he gets to the plate.

"Without him, we'd be in big trouble."

The Golden Eagles got the scoring started early, jumping out to a 14-0 lead by the fourth inning. Left fielder Pat Warfle drove in four runs while finishing a home run short of the cycle, and second baseman Jake Kahaulelio added four RBIs of his own.

The result bodes well for the Golden Eagles after being shut down for most of Thursday's game against fourth-seeded Centenary, a contest in which they needed extra innings to win. But Walton said no major alterations were made to the game plan.

"It's too late in the season to start making changes," Walton said. "We just needed to make simple adjustments and play the way we have been playing all season. If we do that, good things will follow."

The win sends ORU to the championship round of the Mid-Con tournament for the ninth time in as many years. Because of the tournament's double-elimination setup, their opponent would be forced to beat the Golden Eagles twice to win the championship.

Duffy said Friday's win is a huge morale booster for everyone in the locker room.

"This is the kind of game that raises everyone's confidence," Duffy said. "We know that a team is going to have to play very, very well to beat us twice tomorrow."

When asked what he will tell his brother about Friday's game, Duffy said, laughing, "I don't really know what I'll say to him. I'll probably tell him that it was a big blowout win, and that we played well in every phase of the game."