Oklahoma collected three hits in a two-run second inning, but just two more the rest of the game as Georgia came from behind in the late innings for a 6-3 win on Saturday to take the series over the Sooners.
The 14th-ranked Sooners (30-13, 11-10) now have a 4-3 record in SEC series, but have lost three of the last five, including being swept at home by then-no. 7 LSU.
Sooners' first trip to Athens, Georgia, not a welcoming one
Oklahoma struck first on Saturday at No. 10 Georgia, scoring twice in the second to go out in front 2-0 in the rubber game of the series. The Sooners remained in the lead until the sixth inning, when Georgia first baseman Brennan Hudson launched a three-run home run off of Sooner starter Malachi Witherspoon with two men out to erase the OU advantage and take a 3-2 lead.
The Bulldogs (35-11, 12-9) extended the lead with two more runs in the seventh inning on back-to-back long balls by Branch, his second of the game, and Kolby Branch, older brother of OU freshman second baseman Kyle Branch.
The Sooners scored a final run in the top half of the eighth on a double by Scott Mulder, a Georgia native, that scored Jason Walk, but it was too little, too late.
Oklahoma managed just three runs on five hits, but had plenty of opportunities to score more, leaving 10 runners on base courtesy of seven walks and two hit batters by Georgia's four pitchers.
Unfortunately, the Sooners offensive struggles on Saturday overshadowed a strong pitching performance from the other Witherspoon brother, Malachi, who worked through six innings, allowing four runs (but only one earned) and scattering four hits while striking out seven and issuing just one free pass.
Sooner junior first baseman Dayton Tockey had a career game in Oklahoma's series-opening win on Thursday. The junior college transfer went 4-for-4 at the plate, including a couple of home runs, and drove in five of OU's eight runs. Tockey left the game in the eighth inning with an injury sliding into second base. He did not play the rest of the series.
Tockey wasn't the only Sooner star in Game 1. Pitching ace Kyson Witherspoon allowed just one run on five hits in seven innings and struck out eight in earning his eighth win of the season to go with a couple of losses.
The middle game of the series turned into a slugfest, but with each team piling up runs at different stages of the game. Georgia, looking for its first win in the series after losing Game 1, scored six runs before Oklahoma collected its first hit in the fifth inning.
The Sooners scored two runs on three hits in the top of the fifth, but the Bulldogs tallied three more times in the bottom half of the inning to go up 9-2.
That's when Oklahoma started its scoring drive with three runs in the sixth, two more in the seventh and another pair in the eighth to make it 10-9 after eight frames.
OU did get the potential tying run on base in the ninth on a two-out single by Dawson Willis, who had four of the Sooners' 10 hits in the game, but Trey Gambill struck out swinging to cut Oklahoma's late-inning rally short and end the game.
Offense was on full display on Friday with both teams going with six pitchers to try to stem the tide. Junior left-hander Cade Crossland took the loss for the Sooners, going four innings and giving up seven earned runs on just three hits.
The three games between OU and Georgia this weekend marked the first time these two schools have ever faced each other on the baseball diamond. The Sooners aren't the only team that has encountered great difficulty in beating Georgia at Foley Field in Athens. The Bulldogs are 26-3 at home this season.
Oklahoma returns home for four games this week. The Sooners host Wichita State at L. Dale Mitchell Park on Tuesday and will welcome No, 23 Ole Miss this weekend.
Read more about OU baseball