Preview: Oral Roberts at South Dakota State

BROOKINGS, S.D. (Interstat) — The Oral Roberts Golden Eagles will look to build on their series-opening victory when they face the South Dakota State Jackrabbits in a Summit League matchup Saturday at Erv Huether Field.

First pitch is scheduled for the afternoon. The forecast calls for cloudy skies and a temperature near 43 degrees.

Oral Roberts (21-14) won the opener 8-4 on Friday afternoon behind a strong relief outing from Maddox Thornton and a two-homer game from center fielder Makani Tanaka. The Golden Eagles have won seven of their last nine games.

South Dakota State (11-22) seeks to end a three-game skid and even the series. The Jackrabbits have lost five of their last six.

A key player to watch for Oral Roberts is Thornton. The reliever was dominant in Friday’s win, pitching four hitless innings with three strikeouts. Over his last six appearances, he has allowed just one earned run in 12 2/3 innings.

For South Dakota State, reliever Ty Madison will be one to monitor. He provided two scoreless innings of relief in Friday’s loss and has not allowed a hit in his last three outings, spanning 6 1/3 innings.

The Golden Eagles have dominated the recent series, winning the last four meetings, including a three-game sweep in March. Interstat’s game simulator projects a close contest, favoring Oral Roberts 7-6. The service’s ELO rating system gives the Golden Eagles a 72.3% probability to win.

Following Saturday’s game, the series concludes Sunday afternoon. Oral Roberts will then visit Oklahoma on Tuesday. South Dakota State’s next series is at home against Northern Colorado next Friday.