The St. Thomas Tommies will return to Koch Diamond after a six-game road trip to host league-leading Oral Roberts for a three-game Summit League baseball series from May 1 to May 3.
This matchup is significant as the Tommies look to build on their recent success and challenge the top team in the conference. The games are scheduled for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, with first pitches at 3 p.m., 1 p.m., and 1 p.m., respectively.
The Tommies recently secured their first series win of the season against Omaha by winning two out of three games. However, they lost their midweek game against Minnesota with a score of 12-1. St. Thomas currently holds a record of 10-14 against Oral Roberts and aims to break a four-game losing streak versus the Golden Eagles, who swept them in Tulsa earlier this season.
Oral Roberts leads the Summit League with a conference record of 16-3 and an overall record of 26-17. Senior Makani Tanaka leads their offense with a .324 batting average and nine home runs, while their pitching staff has maintained an earned run average (ERA) of 4.42.
Several individual achievements have marked this season for St. Thomas players: Junior Owen Bond leads the league in triples and on-base percentage while ranking second in batting average; Joe Roder tops the league in walks; Tanner Recchio leads both the league and ranks tenth nationally with thirty stolen bases; Adam Puder follows with thirteen stolen bases.
Head Coach Chris Olean enters his seventeenth season leading St. Thomas baseball, having compiled an overall record of 414-256-1 since taking over before the 2010 season. Olean is recognized as a three-time NCAA Division III Region Coach of the Year and has led teams that won multiple MIAC championships as well as national runner-up finishes during his tenure.
