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In the first game of the afternoon the Sooners capitalized on a solid pitching performance by Jonathan Gray and some timely hitting by Hector Lorenza, Garrett Carey and Anthony Hermelyn.
Saturday's Big 12 Baseball Scores
Texas Tech 5, BYU 1
Oklahoma 11, Hofstra 10 (11 innings)
Oklahoma State 15, New Mexico 14 (13 innings)
Citidel 10, Kansas State 8
UC Irvine 5, Baylor 0
Nevada 2, Kansas 1
Sacramento State 5, Texas 3
Texas Tech 10, Northern Colorado 1
Ole Miss 5, TCU 2
Oklahoma 3, Hofstra 2
Gray went 6.2 innings, striking out six batters along the way. He got into a bit of trouble in the seventh when The Pride scored two runs to draw within 3-2 but a solid relief effort from the bullpen, led by Jake Fisher, kept Hofstra at bay for the remainder of the game.
Carey and Hermelyn each knocked in RBIs in the third and fourth innings to put Oklahoma up 2-0 going into the fifth. That's when Lorenza went yard for the first time as a Sooner with a single shot blast over the left field fence for what would prove to be the game winning run.
The second game of the afternoon is what brought on all the drama. The Sooners fell behind by a score of 9-4 at the end of the fifth and it appeared as if Hofstra was primed to notch their first win of the season. However, three runs in the sixth put Oklahoma at just a 9-7 disadvantage and kept them within reach. Hofstra plated another run in the top of the ninth to pull ahead by a score of 10-7 but the Sooners weren't done with the rally. Matt Oberste would cap a three-run ninth for OU by knocking in Jack Mayfield and Craig Aikin with a two-out single to send the game into extras.
After a scoreless tenth Craig Aikin led off the bottom of the 11th with a single to left field. Now Oklahoma had the winning run 270 feet away and Hofstra was about to see first hand how quickly Oklahoma's speedy freshman could cover that much ground. The next batter, Jack Mayfield, put the ball in play by hitting it to Taylor Stewart in center field. Stewart booted the ball so Aikin rounded second and then got the green light to head home to complete Oklahoma's first rally victory of the season.
With the series in hand, Oklahoma will be looking for a four-game sweep of Hofstra on Sunday afternoon. First pitch is at 1:00 PM.