Box Score TULSA, Okla. - Senior
RHP Alex Alemann tied the Saint
Louis all-time win record in the Billikens to a 4-2 win over Oral Roberts in
their season opener. Alemann picks up his 22nd win to tie Dave Sever
at the top of the career charts. Sophomore RHP James Norwood earned the save. This win marks the first time the
Billikens have defeated the Golden Eagles since 1973.
"This is a big win for our program," head baseball coach Darin Hendrickson said. "Oral Roberts
was a regional finalist last year and they had won the Summit League 15 years in
a row. We can really pitch well and that showed today."
The game opened up poorly for SLU with the Bills going down
in order in the top of the first. In the bottom half of the frame, Alemann was
dealing, recording two outs in four pitches. However, ORU's All-American Jose Trevino
ripped a home run in the first to put Oral Roberts up 1-0.
The bats were quiet until the sixth. Senior second baseman Mike Levine reached on an error to lead
off the inning and advanced to second on the throw. Three batters later, sophomore
Mike Vigliarolo came to the plate
with a runner on second and two away. He took the first pitch he saw and put it
over the wall in left center. Through six innings, the Bills carried a 2-1
lead.
Saint Louis added another run in the eighth on an error by
ORU, scoring Levine from second. The fourth and final run came in the top of
the ninth on a Grant Nelson solo home run to left.
In the bottom of the frame, the Golden Eagles put up a
scare. The leadoff hitter hit a double off Norwood. He later advanced to third
when the next two hitters reached via errors. However, Norwood responded by
striking out Trevino and the ORU cleanup hitter to give him two outs. The next
batter drew a walk to score a run and bring the score to 4-2 SLU. The final ORU
hitter battled the count full before eventually fouling out to third base.
Aleman earns the win after going six innings with five hits,
three walks and three strikeouts. Norwood gets the first save of the season
after hurling three innings without allowing an earned run. He had five
strikeouts, two walks and two hits.
Saint Louis and Oral Roberts will play game two tomorrow at
2:00 p.m. in Tulsa, Okla.
