Bison Stun Oral Roberts 4-3 in Extra Innings, Advance to Summit Title Game

Friday, May 25

Tulsa, Okla.

3:30 PM

North Dakota State

40-18

Oral Roberts

34-23

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
Oral Roberts	0	2	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	3	6	1
North Dakota State	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	0	1	4	7	2

Bison Stun Oral Roberts 4-3 in Extra Innings, Advance to Summit Title Game

5/26/2012 12:12:00 AM | Baseball

Box Score

TULSA, Okla. - Max Casper hit a leadoff single and scored on Wes Satzinger's sacrifice fly in the bottom of the 10th inning to give No. 3 seed North Dakota State a 4-3 win over top-seeded host Oral Roberts in the second round of the Summit League baseball tournament Friday, May 25, at J.L. Johnson Stadium.

The Bison (40-18) got back-to-back doubles from Kyle Kleinendorst and pinch hitter Ben Herauf to start a three-run eighth inning that tied the game. Closer Kyle Kingsley pitched two perfect innings of relief to improve to 7-3.

The victory sent North Dakota State to its first league championship game, one win away from an automatic berth in the NCAA tournament. Oral Roberts (34-23) had a 37-game tournament winning streak snapped.

Herauf, in his first plate appearance since a pinch-hit RBI single against Southern Utah on May 5, roped a 1-2 pitch inside the third base bag to score Kleinendorst from second and make it a 3-1 game. Casper and Tim Colwell had back-to-back RBI singles to tie it and the Bison left the bases loaded in the eighth.

The rally spoiled a marvelous outing for ORU starter Alex Gonzalez, who retired 15 straight batters and kept NDSU without a hit until Tyler Steen's leadoff single in the sixth. The Bison didn't hit a ball out of the infield until the fifth.

Casper lined his 10th-inning single into right field and he moved to second when Colwell showed bunt and slapped a single to the vacant shortstop position past ORU third baseman Jose Trevino, who was playing for the bunt about 30 feet from home plate.

Nick Colwell followed with a sac bunt down the third base line with Trevino even with the bag, and an intentional walk to Zach Wentz loaded the bases for Satzinger, who argued a called strike three in his previous at-bat in the eighth.

Casper and Tim Colwell both finished 2-for-4. NDSU starter Luke Anderson allowed three runs, two earned, on five hits with two walks and six strikeouts. Jake Heck faced two batters in the eighth and Simon Anderson came on to strand two runners and keep it a 3-0 game.

Gonzalez was responsible for all three NDSU runs in the eighth and allowed three hits with two walks and two strikeouts in seven-plus innings. Closer Joe Spring gave up four hits with two walks and two strikeouts in 2 2/3 innings and dropped to 5-2 with the loss.

North Dakota State will play in the title game at 1 p.m. Saturday, May 26, against the winner of Friday night's elimination game between Oral Roberts and No. 2 seed Oakland. Those two teams split a four-game series in Tulsa in early April.