Oklahoma baseball: Sooners rebound for win in Texas series finale
By Chip Rouse
After blowing leads late in a pair of Oklahoma baseball losses to Texas this weekend, the Sooners left no doubt in capturing Sunday’s series finale.
Brylie Ware had a couple of hits, two RBI and scored two runs, and Cade Harris delivered three hits in four plate appearances, as Oklahoma ended a three-game Big 12 losing streak, blanking 17th-ranked Texas 6-0.
The Sooners pounded out 13 hits off of five Texas pitchers, nine off of starter Blair Henley, and OU sophomore Nathan Wiles allowed just five hits in 7 2/3 innings, striking out seven Longhorns to pick up his third win of the season. Senior second baseman Kyle Mendenhall and designated hitter Cade Cavalli also contributed a couple of hits to Sooners’ offensive effort.
With 13 Oklahoma hits in the game and 12 runners left stranded on the base paths, the outcome could actually have been much worse than the final score indicated.
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Oklahoma got on the board in the second inning, with Mendenhall scoring on a single by Cavalli, and added two more in the third on a two-run single by Ware. The Sooners put the game away with a three-run fifth inning, courtesy of a walk and two hit batters, each with the bases loaded.
Despite the Sunday win, Texas won the series 2-1, coming from behind in back-to-back games on Friday and Saturday to post wins of 7-6 and 5-3. It was OU’s first series loss in four Big 12 series this season.
The Oklahoma win on Sunday leaves the 11th-ranked Sooners (26-13) and Oklahoma State (26-13-1) tied at the top of the Big 12 standings with 9-3 records. Texas drops to 11-4 in the Big 12 and 24-14 overall.
Next up for the Sooners is a road series at Texas Tech. Following a three-game sweep of Kansas State this weekend, the Red Raiders are 29-8 overall and 8-4 in the Big 12, a game back of Oklahoma and Oklahoma State.