TULSA, Okla. – Oral Roberts head baseball coach Ryan Folmar announced the schedule for his team heading into a 55-game 2018 season, featuring matchups with three Power Five conferences. The Golden Eagles are back on the field to defend their regular season and tournament titles in The Summit League and make another trip to the NCAA Regionals.
Nine of ORU’s 30 home contests will be aired live on ESPN3 for the second-straight season, while the remaining 21 games will have free live video and audio coverage on the ORU Sports Network. In addition, every road game during the year can be heard live online free of charge with second-year broadcaster Adam Hildebrandt.
Not shy about playing the best teams in the region, ORU faces four teams that competed in NCAA Regionals in 2017, including one, Missouri State, who advanced to the Super Regionals. The Golden Eagles face in-state foes Oklahoma and Oklahoma State as well as Missouri State and a trip to perennial power Dallas Baptist totaling 10 games versus tournament tested programs.
ORU begins the 2018 campaign with a home-opening series against Utah from the Pac 12, making its first-ever trip to J.L. Johnson Stadium, February 16-18. An early road test at rival Oklahoma State Feb. 20, is followed by an eight-game homestand with Nevada, Missouri State, SIUE and Wichita State.
The early home matchups will prepare ORU for a challenging road swing to Dallas Baptist March 9-11 and a mid-week trip to Missouri State March 13.
The Summit League schedule for the Golden Eagles begins March 16-18 on their home field against South Dakota State before hosting a pair of mid-week contests with Nebraska March 20-21. It will be the first meeting between ORU and the Huskers since facing off in the 2008 Lincoln Regional.
Dates on the calendar that fans will not want to miss begin with the front side of a home-and-home series against the Sooners at J.L. Johnson Stadium April 3 before the Golden Eagles make the return trip April 24. ORU heads to Stillwater, Oklahoma, April 17, for the second time in 2018, before the Cowboys come to Tulsa for a May 1 matchup.
ORU’s regular season comes to a close away from campus when the Golden Eagles head to West Lafayette, Indiana, for the first time in program history, meeting with Purdue May 15 followed by a conference series at Fort Wayne to end the regular season May 17-19.
For the third-consecutive season, ORU will host The Summit League Championship welcoming the conference’s top four teams to J.L. Johnson Stadium with a spot in the NCAA Championship on the line. The tournament is slated for May 23-26.
