Oklahoma Sooners Baseball: Perez Leads Sooners to Series Win Over KSU

Behind 6.2 scoreless innings from Devon Perez, the Oklahoma Sooners (32-17, 10-8 Big 12) earned a slim 3-0 victory over the Kansas State Wildcats (26-22, 5-13 Big 12) in Manhattan on Sunday afternoon to clinch the series.

Despite accumulating 7 hits on the afternoon, Kansas State couldn’t make anything happen with runners in scoring position all day.

For its part, Oklahoma ran into several outs on the basepaths, especially early in the game, but still managed a few pieces of timely hitting, and two home runs, to win the game. Jack Flansburg singled in Cade Harris in the 3rd to start the scoring, while Austin O’Brien doubled the OU lead with a solo shot in the 4th.

It looked like OU was going to have to hold on to a slim 2-0 victory, but Brylie Ware tacked on one last run with a solo homer of his own in the top of the 9th.

Perez was the real difference-maker for the Sooners, giving up five hits while striking out eight Wildcats and walking just one. J.B. Olson was also solid out of the bullpen — he threw 38 pitches in 2.1 relief innings and gave up just two hits.

Both KSU hits off Olson came in the bottom of the eighth, after Olson had retired the first two Wildcat batters. DH Steve Serratore roped a single into left field, and Josh Rolette followed with a double to the left-center gap. Suddenly, the Wildcats were just one hit away from knotting the game at two.

Olson, though, worked right fielder Hanz Harker to a full count before freezing him with a down-the-middle strike three to end the threat.

Second baseman Jake Wodtke was the big KSU star for the day, going 3-4 with a double and a stolen base in the losing effort.

Oklahoma had split the first two games of the series, winning 11-5 on Friday night before blowing a lead in a 9-7 loss the next day.

The Sooners return to Norman on Friday for a huge weekend series against the conference-leading TCU Horned Frogs. First pitch is at 6:30.