SHREVEPORT, La. — For the fifth year in a row, Oral Roberts bested Southern Utah's baseball team in the Mid-Continent tournament title game, defeating the Thunderbirds 12-4 at Shehee Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
SUU fell to 19-30 while ORU, which won its seventh-straight Mid-Con crown, improved to 48-9 and earned the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Regionals.
ORU scored all 12 of its runs in the first three innings, plating five two-out runs, another six in the second and one more in the third off four Thunderbird pitchers.
Southern Utah avoided its first shutout of the season by scoring three runs in the sixth, pounding out four hits and capitalizing on two ORU errors.
SUU finished with nine hits — all singles — led by a 2-for-4 effort for Charlie Hahl. Jason Ruiz finished 1-for-4 on the day with an RBI and a run scored to close the season with a .398 batting average. Sophomore starter Derek Ellena (L, 0-4) was saddled with the loss after running into trouble in the first inning. Fellow sophomore Jason Gillins scattered eight hits and one run in five innings of effective relief, while senior southpaw Dusty Roche worked around a lead-off hit to pitch a scoreless eighth inning in his final appearance in a Thunderbird uniform.
ORU pounded out 16 hits for the game, led by Josh Lex and Grant Plumley with three safeties apiece. Plumley also drove in three runs, while Ricky Rivera accounted for four RBIs, including a three-run home run to right center to cap the Golden Eagles' six-run second frame.
ORU lefthander Taylor McIntyre (W, 5-1) struck out nine in eight-plus innings of work, surrendering just seven hits and three earned runs, four total, before running into trouble in the ninth. Adam Lesko came on to strike out one while allowing two hits to close out the game.
Southern Utah placed four players on the Mid-Con all-Tournament team: senior catcher/DH Shelby Guest; junior outfielder Amos Burgess; pitcher Justin Abbott; and pitcher Ryan Zimmerman.
ORU had five players voted the tourney team, including Lex, Plumley, Rivera, McIntyre and Brian Hanson, with Rivera winning the Most Valuable Player awardafter batting .571 during the weekend with two home runs, 10 RBIs and five runs scored.