No. 7 Baseball sweeps No. 17 Oklahoma, 9-3
April 3, 2010 NORMAN, Okla. -- The No. 7 Texas Longhorns swept a three-game regular-season series from the No. 17 Oklahoma Sooners for the sixth time in the last 12 seasons with a 9-3 win at L. Dale Mitchell Park on Saturday afternoon. Texas has won the regular-season series against Oklahoma in each of the last 12 seasons. The two runs the Longhorns yielded was the fewest the Sooners had scored in a three-game series since 2006 when they managed just two runs against in-state rival Oklahoma State. The Longhorns pounced on the Sooners for two runs in the top of the first inning. Cohl Walla hit a leadoff single down the leftfield line, Loy pushed him to second with a sacrifice bunt and Tant Shepherd walked. A groundout by Keyes moved the pair into scoring position and Cameron Rupp knocked them both in, slipping a single through the left side of the infield. Texas inflated the cushion to 3-0 in the second. Connor Rowe hit a ground-rule double which bounced over the rightfield wall. He moved to third on a fly ball to rightfield by Jordan Etier. After Walla walked to put runners on the corners, the Horns attempted a double steal and Rowe scored when OU's catcher Tyler Ogle dropped the ball on the tag at home. Tant Shepherd and Kevin Keyes launched back-to-back home runs to start the third inning as the Longhorns expanded the advantage to 5-0. Texas (21-7, 7-2 Big 12) scored again in the fourth inning. With two outs, Keyes doubled down the rightfield line and Rupp followed with an RBI single to leftfield, staking the Horns to a 6-0 a lead.
Oklahoma (22-6, 3-4 Big 12) scored for the first time on the weekend in the bottom of the fourth. With one out, Garrett Buechele dropped a single into rightfield and with two outs, Max White hit a home run to the left centerfield power alley to trim the lead to 6-2. The runs snapped a string of 22 consecutive scoreless frames for UT pitchers, including 21 in a row against the Sooners. The Longhorns lead ballooned to 8-2 with two runs in the seventh. Rupp hit a leadoff double to the gap in right centerfield. With one out, Rowe laced a double down the leftfield line to trade places with Rupp. After Rowe stole third base, Kevin Lusson knocked him home with a fielder's choice grounder with the speedy centerfielder sliding under the tag at the plate. The Sooners trimmed the lead to 8-3 in the bottom of the eighth. Ogle cracked a double down the leftfield line to start the inning, moved to third on a groundout and scored when Ricky Eisenberg drove a pinch-hit double to the identical location. Keyes pushed the chasm back to a half dozen when he launched a moon shot over the batter's eye fencing in centerfield to start the ninth. Rupp led the Longhorns hit parade going 4-for-5 with one double, one run and three RBI. Keyes went 3-for-5 with one double, two home runs, three runs and two RBI. Rowe went 2-for-4 with two runs, two doubles, one sacrifice bunt and one RBI. Three of the Sooners hits went for extra bases with White hitting a two run home run and Ogle and Eisenberg each hitting doubles. Brandon Workman (5-1) earned the win for the Longhorns. He worked 8.0 innings, allowing three runs on four hits and one walk while striking out eight. Chance Ruffin retired all three batters he faced in the ninth inning, including a strikeout. In the three-game series, Texas pitchers yielded just three runs and 11 hits over 27.0 innings. Oklahoma entered the series with a .323 batting average, .419 on-base percentage and .528 slugging percentage on the season. For the weekend, the Sooners hit just .125 with a .181 on-base percentage and .193 slugging percentage. J.R. Robinson (1-2) was saddled with the loss for the Sooners. He allowed four runs, three earned, on four hits and two walks while striking out two over 2.0 innings. Texas returns to action on Tuesday with the first of two games against the Texas A&M - Corpus Christi Islanders. First pitch at UFCU Disch-Falk Field on Tuesday and Wednesday are both slated for 6:05 p.m. |
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