When two slumping teams face off against each other then there's guaranteed to be a slump-buster. It appears, after one game, that the Baylor Bears are not the salve for what is ailing the Sooners as the OU slump continued in Friday night's opener of their three-game series.
The Bears, who had only won twice on the road this season, rallied from a 0-2 deficit to get a quick lead in the series. Oklahoma scored both of their runs in the bottom of the third but, despite outhitting the Bears 6-5, the Sooners wouldn't be able to push across any other runs on the night.
Kolbey Carpenter scored on a Craig Aikin single and then Sheldon Neuse scored Aikin with his seventh triple of the season. Baylor had an immediate response in the top of the fourth though as Grayson Porter and Duncan Wendel recorded RBI's to even the game at two runs apiece.
In a game that was fairly even all night, it was a mistake by the Sooners that proved to be the difference. With two outs in the top of the eighth, and runners on the corners, Baylor's Matt Menard hit the ball to short. Hector Lorenzana fielded the ball but his throw to first was off target. The off-throw allowed Logan Brown to score from third, providing the winning score of 3-2.
Friday's Big XII Baseball Scores
|
West Virginia |
5 |
Texas |
3 |
Morgantown, W. Va. |
|
Oklahoma |
2 |
Baylor |
3 |
Norman, Okla. |
|
Kansas |
11 |
Texas Tech |
3 |
Lawrence, Kan. |
|
TCU |
5 |
Kansas State |
0 |
Fort Worth, Texas |
|
Oklahoma State |
8 |
Arizona State |
5 |
Stillwater, Okla. |
The loss dropped Oklahoma into eighth place in the conference standings. The saving grace for the Sooners was Kansas State losing 5-0 to TCU. It allowed the Sooners to keep a one-game lead over the Wildcats and remain qualified for this month's conference tournament.