Stormin in Norman
Fansided

Oklahoma baseball: Longhorns send Sooners into losers’ bracket in Big 12 Championship

By Chip Rouse

Jan 2, 2017; New Orleans, LA, USA; A member of the against the Oklahoma Sooners Ruf/Neks runs the field with flag after a Sooners score against the Auburn Tigers in the fourth quarter of the 2017 Sugar Bowl at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 2, 2017; New Orleans, LA, USA; A member of the against the Oklahoma Sooners Ruf/Neks runs the field with flag after a Sooners score against the Auburn Tigers in the fourth quarter of the 2017 Sugar Bowl at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit

The good news for fans of Oklahoma baseball is that the 8-4 loss to Texas in the opening round of the Big 12 Baseball Championship may prove to be fatal, but it wasn’t final.

The Sooners, the No. 3 seed in the championship, still have another life to give in the double-elimination postseason tournament. But here comes the bad news: OU’s next opponent, to remain alive in the championship, is Big 12 regular-season co-champion TCU.

Texas jumped all over Oklahoma starter Nathan Wiles with a three-run outburst in the first inning. Longhorn first baseman Kacy Clemens (MLB star Roger Clemens’ son) provided the big blow with a two-run shot that left the yard. Clemens made it a two home-run night with another two-run blast in the third inning to increase the Texas lead to 5-0.

The Sooners didn’t get there first hit off of Texas starter until the fourth inning. Three OU singles produced one run in the fourth, and the Sooners pushed across a couple more tallies in the fifth to knock the Longhorn starter Kennedy out of the game.

Oklahoma got another run back in the sixth inning, and senior catcher Renae Martinez added one more in the seventh with his seventh  home run of the season.. By then, however, the damage was already done, and the OU comeback proved to be too little, too late. The Longhorns added a pair of insurance runs in the ninth to close out the scoring.

Texas was one of three Big 12 teams to win the series from the Sooners this season, winning two of three games in Austin. The two teams have not played each other in the Big 12 Championship since 2008, but the Horns now own a 4-1 advantage over their rivals from north of the Red River in championship action.

Oklahoma (34-21) will play TCU (39-15) in a mid-day contest on Thursday, The No. 2 Horned Frogs were upset by seven-seed Kansas on Wednesday. The loser of the game between the Sooners and Horned Frogs will be eliminated from the championship.

The Sooners took the season series from TCU this year 2-1, with both wins coming on walk-offs.

“We’re going to come back and attack TCU,” said Sooner sophomore center fielder Steele Walker after the loss to Texas. “It’s still a baseball game. As far as I see it, it’s another team. I don’t care what time we play. We’re going to go out there and attack them.”

West Virginia, the four seed, was the only higher-seeded team to hold serve in the opening round. No. 1 Texas Tech was shut out 3-0 by No. 8 Oklahoma State, and Kansas upset TCU 7-3.

Home/OU Baseball