BROOKINGS, S.D. (Interstat) — The Oral Roberts Golden Eagles unleashed a relentless offensive barrage, scoring 16 runs across the second and third innings, to demolish the South Dakota State Jackrabbits 18-2 in a Summit League baseball game Saturday at Erv Huether Field.

The most important part of the game was the nightmarish top of the second inning for South Dakota State, which transformed a scoreless contest into a blowout and set the tone for the entire afternoon and evening. After a quiet first inning, the Golden Eagles (22-14, 5-3) sent 13 men to the plate in the second, erupting for eight runs on five hits against starter Sam Novotny and reliever Drew McDowell.

Cooper Combs ignited the onslaught with a two-run homer to left field. Later in the inning, with two men on, Will Edmunson launched a three-run blast to deep center. Walks, a wild pitch and a passed ball plagued the Jackrabbits’ pitchers, and Wailele KaneYates capped the inning with an RBI double that scored an unearned run.

Oral Roberts was far from done. In the third inning, they batted around again, sending 14 hitters to the plate and scoring eight more runs to take a commanding 16-0 lead. Matthew Mainord delivered the biggest blow, a three-run homer to right field. The Golden Eagles piled on with four more hits in the frame, including run-scoring hits from KaneYates, Martell Davis and Cooper Kelly, along with a two-run single from Ethan Fender.

The offensive support was more than enough for Oral Roberts starter Nathan Love, who earned the win. Love, the top star for the Golden Eagles, worked 4 1/3 innings, allowing two earned runs on four hits while striking out two. He exited after the Jackrabbits (11-23, 3-8) pushed across their only two runs in the fifth inning on bases-loaded walks to Nolan Grawe and pinch-hitter Mason Lang.

The Oral Roberts bullpen was flawless in relief. Will Yeary threw 1 2/3 perfect innings, and Dylan Christensen struck out the side in the seventh to seal the victory.

South Dakota State used seven pitchers in an attempt to stem the tide. Matthew Werk provided a brief respite with two innings of one-run relief, and Logan Campbell worked a scoreless seventh.

For Oral Roberts, Mainord finished 2 for 4 with a home run, a triple and three RBIs. Edmunson drove in three with his home run, and Combs had three RBIs on his homer and a sacrifice fly. Davis went 2 for 4 with two RBIs, and KaneYates was 3 for 3 with a double and three RBIs before being lifted for a pinch-hitter.

South Dakota State managed just five hits, with Grawe contributing an RBI double.

The lopsided result defied the pregame projection from Interstat, which had simulated a narrow 7-6 Oral Roberts victory and gave the Golden Eagles a 72.3% probability to win.

The Golden Eagles have now won four straight games against the Jackrabbits this season and will go for a series sweep on Sunday. South Dakota State will look to salvage the final game of the weekend set.