Ryan Folmar raves over Oral Roberts' resiliency after loss vs. Florida

Oral Roberts dropped a close game to the Florida Gators on Sunday, which sent the Golden Eagles to the brink of elimination. Despite that loss, head coach Ryan Folmar praised his team for its resiliency in the game.

Florida put top MLB prospect Hurston Waldrep on the mound and by the time he left after six innings, the Gators led 5-1. However, Oral Roberts fought back to make it a 5-4 game with a legitimate chance to win the game in the ninth inning before ultimately falling short.

“I’m glad everybody’s getting to see it,” Ryan Folmar said. “I’m glad we’re on this stage. Those last couple of innings we gave ourselves a chance every inning. Matt’s [Hogan] swing was big. And I think just as big as the swing was the way he’s running around the bases, the way he hustles, the way he plays. And I think that’s contagious throughout our team. I think all of them have that.”

At one point in the ninth inning, Oral Roberts even managed to load the bases. However, only one runner came across home and Florida held on to win.

“And then as you said, man, we loaded them up in the eighth and the ninth. We needed that one move, that one swing, that one moment. And just couldn’t get it, just couldn’t get it,” Folmar said.

“A lot of credit to them. They did a great job. They attacked the zone all night long. Obviously this is a really talented club. So at some point we’ve got to make a swing, gotta make a move and make them pay. And leaving 13 on against that kind of team in that moment just won’t get it done.”

Because of the loss, Oral Roberts will need to play TCU in an elimination game. The Golden Eagles already upset the Horned Frogs once, in an exciting 6-5 win.

Ryan Folmar previewed the team’s elimination game

If Oral Roberts is going to continue its Cinderella run, then the Golden Eagles are going to need to come up with a huge win over TCU. Ryan Folmar previewed that matchup after losing to Florida.

“What we do is not going to change. You get to this point because of what you do to get here. Regardless of what they do, as you said, everybody here is good. Everybody here is playing well at the right time of year. So I think more than any scouting report or matchups or anything you want to cover, we’ve got to play well. And if we play well, we’re going to have a chance. If we don’t, we’re probably going to come up a little short,” Folmar said.

“We have to find a way tomorrow in our workout to get sharp and get ready mentally to go and come out and play well on Tuesday.”