OU baseball: Sooners fall behind early, eliminated by Oklahoma State
May 26—In its opening game of the Big 12 Tournament, Oklahoma found success early and rode that momentum to an upset win over Oklahoma State.
Saturday's elimination rematch between the two Bedlam rivals ended up being the exact opposite. It was the Cowboys that struck first when David Mendham drove in three runs on a home run into left field in the bottom of the second.
The next two batters were hit by a pitch and walked, setting up an RBI-single by Roc Riggio and a sacrifice flyball to cap off a five-run inning. The Sooners wouldn't respond until the top of the fifth, a lonely run in the fifth inning when Jake Spikerman was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded.
Oklahoma had chances to crawl back into the game, but Cowboys responded each time.
The Sooners were eliminated with an 8-3 loss after a 1-2 mark at the Big 12 Tournament.
The Sooners loaded up the base with one out in the fifth inning and no outs in the seventh, and came away with three runs combined. After Spikerman's walk in the fifth, Kendall Pettis hit into a double play that ended the inning.
Oklahoma was 2-12 at the plate with runners in scoring position. The Cowboys returned the favor in the bottom of the seventh with two walks and a single to load up the bases again.
Riggio put the Cowboys back up by five runs with a sacrifice fly ball, but James Hitt got the next batter to ground out to end the threat.
Spikerman again returned to the plate with three runners on base and no outs in the top of the seventh. This time the sophomore singled through the right side to bring in another run.
Kendall Pettis grounded out for an RBI and the next two batters struck out to end the inning.
Once again the Cowboys went back to work in the bottom of the inning. They came away with three singles and scored two runs on an RBI-single by Mendham.
Oklahoma ended up outhitting the Cowboys 10-8 in the loss. The Sooners made three costly defensive errors.
Sooner starting pitcher Will Carsten was replaced midway through the second inning after giving up four earned runs and two hits. The pitching staff combined to walk six batters and hit two batters.
The Sooners were only walked twice and were struck out seven times. Rocco Garza-Gongora, Bryce Madron and Spikerman each came away with two hits on the day.
Oklahoma (31-25) now waits to learn its face during Sunday's NCAA Tournament Selection.
