Preview: Oral Roberts at South Dakota State

BROOKINGS, S.D. (Interstat) — The Oral Roberts Golden Eagles will look to solidify their standing atop the Summit League when they visit the South Dakota State Jackrabbits for a three-game series opener Friday evening at Erv Huether Field.

First pitch is scheduled for 7 p.m. under clear skies with a game-time temperature of 84 degrees.

Oral Roberts (20-14) enters with a winning record and momentum from taking three of four games against Omaha last weekend, though it fell 5-3 to Central Arkansas in its midweek contest. The Golden Eagles swept the Jackrabbits in their prior meeting this season, a three-game set in Tulsa from March 13-15.

South Dakota State (11-21) seeks to reverse that trend and build on its most recent performance, a 13-2 road rout of Saint Thomas (Minn.) on April 11. That victory snapped a three-game skid for the Jackrabbits.

A key matchup will feature two of the league’s recent standout pitchers. Oral Roberts is expected to rely on Brendan Asher, who struck out eight over 4 2/3 innings against Central Arkansas last Tuesday. The right-hander has shown high strikeout potential but has allowed three earned runs in each of his last four appearances.

South Dakota State will counter with Kaden Rylance, who is coming off his best start of the season. The right-hander threw six hitless innings with five strikeouts in the win over Saint Thomas. In his previous start on March 29, he also did not allow a hit over 4 2/3 innings against Northern Colorado.

Interstat’s game simulator projects a high-scoring affair with Oral Roberts edging South Dakota State 7-6. The service’s ELO rating system gives the Golden Eagles a 71.9% probability to win the series opener.

Following Friday’s contest, the teams will meet again Saturday and Sunday to conclude the series.