Sooners Tame Tigers 6-4, Snap Four Game Conference Losing Streak

The Oklahoma Sooners hadn't won a conference baseball game in nearly two weeks and you could tell by the enthusiasm in the Sooner dugout that they were ready. After dropping the final game of the Nebraska series and then being swept by Texas, Oklahoma started off the Missouri series with a 6-4 win in a game in which they didn't play perfect.

Missouri started the game with a single to left field by Michael Liberto, then a double by Aaron Senne. Two batters later Jonah Schmidt walked and Oklahoma pitcher Zach Neal was officially in trouble. Dane Opel hit a sacrifice fly to right field to score Liberto and giving the Tigers a 1-0 lead going into Oklahoma's bottom half of the inning. 

Max White doubled to give the Sooners a runner in scoring position with their lead off batter. Then Cris Ellison walked setting up Jack Mayfield to hit a 2 RBI single to right field with two outs. Mayfield's hit gave OU the lead for good at 2-1 but the Tigers weren't through challenging.

Cameron Seitzer hit a sacrifice fly to left field in the bottom of the third to score Chris Ellison, giving OU a 3-1 lead. Then Missouri's first two batters successfully reached base to start off the 4th inning. Neal hit Brannon Champagne to load the bases with just one out. Then Liberto popped out to left field but the hit gave Blake Brown enough time to tag up at third and head home. Oklahoma ended Missouri's half of the inning with the next batter but the Tigers had closed the gap to 3-2.

A double play helped Oklahoma get out of the top of the 5th without allowing any runs but the Sooners failed to produce any runs in the bottom half of the inning despite Max White getting on base. Thanks to a running error by the Tigers, Oklahoma pulled off another double play in the top of the 6th but Oklahoma was again held scoreless in their half of the inning despite Caleb Bushyhead reaching base on a single to right and then advancing to second on a steal.

Missouri would tie the game in the top of the 7th when Brett Nicholas knocked in Champagne but Ricky Eisenberg put the Sooners back on top in the bottom of the inning when he scored off a Max White sacrifice to left field. Oklahoma then delivered the crushing blow off the bat of Cameron Seitzer to put the game out of reach. With two outs, Tyler Ogle reached on a bloop to left field. Then Seitzer went yard, over the left field fence, to push the Sooners to a 6-3 advantage.

Missouri would score again in the top of the 9th but it was too little too late for the Tigers. This was a win that Oklahoma desperately had to have and they fought tooth and nail for it. The win, along with a few key losses, boosted the Sooners up into 3rd place in the conference standings. Of course that means absolutely nothing if OU can't finish off this series. They'll be in position to win the series Saturday afternoon but could really use a three game sweep. That's something they've not yet been able to accomplish this season.

Big 12 Baseball Scores Friday, April 09
Texas A&M 4, Baylor 3
Oklahoma State 13, Texas Tech 3
Nebraska 5, Kansas State 3
Oklahoma 6, Missouri 4
Texas 3, Kansas 2     11 INN