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Oklahoma baseball: Sooners wake up late to upend Xavier in NCAA Regional

By Chip Rouse

Jun 28, 2016; Omaha, NE, USA; General view of the game between the Arizona Wildcats and Coastal Carolina Chanticleers in game two of the College World Series championship series at TD Ameritrade Park. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 28, 2016; Omaha, NE, USA; General view of the game between the Arizona Wildcats and Coastal Carolina Chanticleers in game two of the College World Series championship series at TD Ameritrade Park. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports /
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Things aren’t always as they first appear. That is the best way to describe the Oklahoma baseball game in the opening round of the NCAA Louisville Regional on Friday.

What for most of the game appeared to be a fifth consecutive loss for the Sooners turned out to be a 7-2 runaway for OU over the regionals third-seeded team, the Xavier Musketeers.

Trailing 2-0 in the bottom of the seventh inning, OU’s Domenic DeRenzo tripled to the gap in right center field. A throwing error by the Xavier catcher on a strikeout by Kyle Mendenhall allowed Mendenhall to reach first safely, and Brandon Zaragoza worked Xavier starter Zac Lowther for a six-pitch walk to load the bases with just one out.

That proved to be the beginning of the end for the Musketeers.

Sooner left fielder Cade Harris ripped a bases-clearing double to right center field erasing Xavier’s 2-0 lead to put Oklahoma out in front 3-2. That was followed by five consecutive singles that scored four more Sooner runs.

OU sent 12 batters to the plate in the seventh inning, erupting for seven runs on seven hits, the big blow being Harris’ bases-loaded double.

Up until the seventh, Oklahoma had managed just two hits off of the Xavier starter Lowther, who suffered the loss, his sixth to go along with five wins in 2017.

Junior right-handed pitcher Devon Perez went seven complete innings for the Sooners, giving up two runs on six hits while striking out seven, to win his sixth game of the year against two losses.

Harris, DeRenzo and Jack Flansburg had two hits apiece for the Sooners. Third baseman Rylan Bannon wielded the big bat for Xavier, registering three hits in four at bats.

The Musketeers scored both of their runs in the second inning on a double by catcher Nate Soria with two runners on base.

This was the first meeting ever in baseball between Oklahoma and Xavier. The Sooners now move on to face the winner of Fridays second game in the Louisville Regional between the host-team Cardinals and the Radford Highlanders.

This is Oklahoma’s first NCAA postseason appearance since 2013, and the Sooners’ first win in an NCAA Regional since June 2, 2013.

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