It took the Sooners four innings to put any marks up on the scoreboard but when they struck they did it quickly and plated seven runs in two innings to take a 7-6 lead. Who knew that at that point it would be too little too late for Oklahoma who would drop the game 8-7, setting up a rubber match with Kansas State tomorrow afternoon.
The Wildcats put two runs up in the second and two more in the third to take a 4-0 lead on OU but then the Sooners came alive in the fourth.
Jack Mayfield led off the inning by being hit with a pitch and then Max White reached on a fielder's choice. Hunter Lockwood would then double to center, scoring both Mayfield and White, and then cross the plate himself when Caleb Bushyhead singled.
Saturday's Big XII Baseball Scores
Baylor 3, Oklahoma State 2
Missouri 4, Texas A&M 3
Kansas State 8, Oklahoma 7
Kansas 5, Texas Tech 2
Cal 12, Texas 2
Starting pitcher Dillon Overton sat the Wildcats down in order to start the fifth and then Oklahoma's freshman came up huge once again. Lockwood homered to right field to score Mayfield along with Erik Ross and himself and put the Sooners up 7-6.
Unfortunately the Sooners would go to the pen and Kansas State would plate the tying and go ahead runs in the 8th when Jon Davis and Ross Kivett scored to take the game.
There are several places you could look to place blame for this loss (slow offensive start/6 stranded runners) but in my opinion the blame lies in one specific area...poor base running.
In the first inning Erik Ross was picked off at second base. In the third inning Dylan Neal was picked off at first. In the fifth inning Max White was picked off at second just before Lockwood went yard (that's a for sure run right there). When you add those three runners to the six that Oklahoma left stranded then you get a total of nine base runners that never made it home.
Granted that Kansas State is extremely good at picking off base runners but this has been an issue that has plagued the Sooners all season long. It caught up with them big time on Saturday and ended Oklahoma's winning streak at four games.
The Sooners and Wildcats play the rubber-match on Sunday afternoon at 1:00.