Oral Roberts University stuns TCU in College World Series opener

The baseball program at Oral Roberts University has come on leaps and bounds in recent years, and the 2023 season was something of a Cinderella story for them. The Christian college in Tulsa has been a game competitor for decades, competing in the NCAA Tournament 20 times, but this is only their second trip to Omaha.

Facing the TCU Horned Frogs for their opening game, everyone expected ORU to play like they have in the past. Game, but ultimately tamed.

The Golden Eagles, however, seem to have other plans. They opened the College World Series by stunning TCU 6-5 with a ninth inning, three-run blast by Blaze Brothers.

Cole Fontenelle opened the scoring up for TCU with a fourth-inning solo shot. Oral Roberts answered back two innings later with a two-run shot of his own to put the Golden Eagles ahead. The Horned Frogs levelled it in the bottom of that inning when Fontenelle singled to drive in Karson Bowen and there the scoring stayed.

In the bottom of the eighth, it looked as if TCU had finally broken ORU, when Fontenelle drew a walk with the bases full and the following batter, Tre Richardson was hit by a pitch, gifting two unearned runs to the Horned Frogs.

Then in the top of the ninth, back-to-back-to-back singles clawed one run back to make it a 5-3 game with runners on first and second. Blaze Brothers then got a middle-middle fastball and parked it in the cheap seats beyond left field.

TCU was unable to answer back and Oral Roberts have pulled off something that very few imagined possible. Now with a game in hand, the Golden Eagles have taken their luck into their own hands, while TCU sits only one loss away from disaster.

As the winner, ORU will now face the winner of Virginia vs Florida on Sunday, June 18 at 7 p.m. ET, while TCU will face the loser of that same game on Sunday at 2 p.m ET.