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STILLWATER — A five-run first inning and a five-run eighth were the perfect bookends to a Bedlam baseball victory for 16th-ranked OU on Tuesday night.
The Sooners took advantage of some Oklahoma State miscues early, then capped the night with Jason Walk’s grand slam in the eighth and final inning of an 11-1 run-rule victory over the Cowboys at O’Brate Stadium.
OU leadoff hitter Trey Gambill opened the game with what turned out to be the first of four straight singles to start the game for the Sooners. Then OSU made two errors to fuel the fire of OU’s big inning.
“Starting the way Trey did with a big at-bat leading off the first, kind of getting some momentum on our side,” said OU sophomore Jaxon Willits, who contributed to the offense in both the first and eight innings. “And when you have the momentum, a lot of good things happen.”
The first three hitters in OU’s batting order — Gambill, Willits and Easton Carmichael — reached base three times each, and cleanup man Sam Christiansen was 2 for 4 with a double and three RBIs.
The Sooners (26-10, 7-8 SEC) have won three of their last four games heading into a weekend series at Missouri that begins Thursday.
The Cowboys (16-18, 5-8 Big 12) have dropped three straight following a four-game winning streak and are set to host Houston this weekend.
More: What to expect when Bedlam baseball renews with Oklahoma Sooners visiting OSU Cowboys
Four OU pitchers combined to allow one run on four hits, with James Hitt picking up the win on the strength of three no-hit innings.
“When the offense does that, it makes pitching better,” OU coach Skip Johnson said. “They can execute pitches. We were gonna use a lot of guys tonight and we got to use those guys.
“When the offense is rolling like that, separating balls from strikes, it’s a good sign for us.”
Starter Jaden Barfield walked one over two hitless innings, and Hitt walked one, needing 29 pitches to get through his three frames.
Reid Hensley was the only pitcher OSU hitters managed any type of success against. Hensley allowed a single and a walk to lead off the fourth, but worked his way out of it.
Nolan Schubart gave him a scare with a flyout that looked like it might clear the wall, but died at the warning track. The next inning, Colin Brueggemann hit a solo home run, but that was all OSU could muster.
“I thought that was huge,” Johnson said of Hensley’s third-inning escape. “A momentum change in a game like this, you never know what can happen.”
It started with pitching struggles and defensive lapses. It continued with the lack of offensive success from inning to inning.
Overall, OSU never really threatened the Sooners.
“Not one phase of the game where we were competitive as necessary to win the game,” coach Josh Holliday said. “Pure and simple.”
Holliday came into the game expecting to use several pitchers, but OU knocked out starter Ryan Ure after one inning. Brennan Phillips allowed one run on one hit over the next three innings to calm the storm, but the Cowboy offense couldn’t make enough noise to matter.
“He gave us time to try to put something together on offense,” Holliday said of Phillips. “Other than Brueggy’s swing, we weren’t able to do that. As you’re trying to piece that game together and you’re on the wrong side of the board, we need some other guys to step in and continue to jump on this thing.”
Brueggemann raised his batting average to .308, the best among OSU’s regulars, and his eight home runs are tied for the team lead as he continues to put together a consistently reliable senior season.
“None of us are happy with the result today,” Brueggemann said. “It’s disappointing, but the only thing we can do is get back after it. Focus on Houston this weekend.”
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OU baseball scores early, late in run-rule win over OSU in Bedlam duel
Continue reading...
The Sooners took advantage of some Oklahoma State miscues early, then capped the night with Jason Walk’s grand slam in the eighth and final inning of an 11-1 run-rule victory over the Cowboys at O’Brate Stadium.
OU leadoff hitter Trey Gambill opened the game with what turned out to be the first of four straight singles to start the game for the Sooners. Then OSU made two errors to fuel the fire of OU’s big inning.
“Starting the way Trey did with a big at-bat leading off the first, kind of getting some momentum on our side,” said OU sophomore Jaxon Willits, who contributed to the offense in both the first and eight innings. “And when you have the momentum, a lot of good things happen.”
The first three hitters in OU’s batting order — Gambill, Willits and Easton Carmichael — reached base three times each, and cleanup man Sam Christiansen was 2 for 4 with a double and three RBIs.
The Sooners (26-10, 7-8 SEC) have won three of their last four games heading into a weekend series at Missouri that begins Thursday.
The Cowboys (16-18, 5-8 Big 12) have dropped three straight following a four-game winning streak and are set to host Houston this weekend.
More: What to expect when Bedlam baseball renews with Oklahoma Sooners visiting OSU Cowboys
OU pitchers combine for strong effort
Four OU pitchers combined to allow one run on four hits, with James Hitt picking up the win on the strength of three no-hit innings.
“When the offense does that, it makes pitching better,” OU coach Skip Johnson said. “They can execute pitches. We were gonna use a lot of guys tonight and we got to use those guys.
“When the offense is rolling like that, separating balls from strikes, it’s a good sign for us.”
Starter Jaden Barfield walked one over two hitless innings, and Hitt walked one, needing 29 pitches to get through his three frames.
Reid Hensley was the only pitcher OSU hitters managed any type of success against. Hensley allowed a single and a walk to lead off the fourth, but worked his way out of it.
Nolan Schubart gave him a scare with a flyout that looked like it might clear the wall, but died at the warning track. The next inning, Colin Brueggemann hit a solo home run, but that was all OSU could muster.
“I thought that was huge,” Johnson said of Hensley’s third-inning escape. “A momentum change in a game like this, you never know what can happen.”
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Cowboys’ letdown came in all phases
It started with pitching struggles and defensive lapses. It continued with the lack of offensive success from inning to inning.
Overall, OSU never really threatened the Sooners.
“Not one phase of the game where we were competitive as necessary to win the game,” coach Josh Holliday said. “Pure and simple.”
Holliday came into the game expecting to use several pitchers, but OU knocked out starter Ryan Ure after one inning. Brennan Phillips allowed one run on one hit over the next three innings to calm the storm, but the Cowboy offense couldn’t make enough noise to matter.
“He gave us time to try to put something together on offense,” Holliday said of Phillips. “Other than Brueggy’s swing, we weren’t able to do that. As you’re trying to piece that game together and you’re on the wrong side of the board, we need some other guys to step in and continue to jump on this thing.”
Brueggemann raised his batting average to .308, the best among OSU’s regulars, and his eight home runs are tied for the team lead as he continues to put together a consistently reliable senior season.
“None of us are happy with the result today,” Brueggemann said. “It’s disappointing, but the only thing we can do is get back after it. Focus on Houston this weekend.”
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OU baseball scores early, late in run-rule win over OSU in Bedlam duel
Continue reading...
