Crimson And Cream Machine - Weekend Baseball Thread | Oklahoma Sooners vs. BYU CougarsA Site For Sooner Fans By Sooner Fanshttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/48625/crimsonandcream_fave.png2015-02-28T23:48:20-06:00http://www.crimsonandcreammachine.com/rss/stream/78822342015-02-28T23:48:20-06:002015-02-28T23:48:20-06:00Sooners Pound Cougars In 7-1 Win | Take Series
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<p>The long ball was working for Oklahoma on Saturday and they took full advantage of it. Heading into game four of their series with BYU, the Sooners had a 2-1 lead in games and were just one win away from taking a series that was moved to Las Vegas because of winter weather in Oklahoma.</p>
<p>Seizing the moment, OU rocked BYU starter Maverick Buffalo for three runs in the first inning thanks to a pair of back-to-back home runs by Sheldon Neuse and Anthony Hermelyn. A one-out walk by Taylor Alspaugh allowed Neuse's shot over the right field wall to be a two-run blast. Oklahoma tacked on another run in the fourth when a single by Kyle Mendenhall brought Craig Aikin home.</p>
<p>The final pieces of Oklahoma's explosive offensive puzzle came in the eighth when a two-run homer by Hunter Haley scored both himself and Hermelyn and then three batters later Chris Shaw sent a solo shot over the left field wall. In all the Sooners scored seven runs off nine hits to take the final game, and the series from BYU, by a final of 7-1.</p>
<blockquote lang="en" class="twitter-tweet">
<p><a href="https://twitter.com/HuntHaley4">@HuntHaley4</a> with the bomb! <a href="https://twitter.com/OU_Baseball">@OU_Baseball</a> <a href="http://t.co/DZPFjnHnqF">pic.twitter.com/DZPFjnHnqF</a></p>
— anthony hermelyn (@anthonyhermelyn) <a href="https://twitter.com/anthonyhermelyn/status/571796887793102848">February 28, 2015</a>
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<p>In a series where each of the first three games were decided by a single run, Saturday's blowout was a welcome change of pace. Starter Adam Choplick earned his first win of the season by going six strong innings and keeping the Cougars off the board until the sixth when Court Iorg scored their lone run on a passed ball. Choplick's final stat line read 1 run, 4 hits, and 7 KO's. Four Sooner relievers came in to close out the game for Oklahoma, including Thomas Mcllraith who fanned three BYU batters in two innings.</p>
<p>Oklahoma returns home to Norman to play against Arkansas Little Rock on Tuesday night. First pitch is scheduled for 6:00 p.m.</p>
<p><b><u>Notables</u></b></p>
<p>* Oklahoma's four home runs was the most they've hit in a game since they recorded six against Kansas State in 2010.</p>
<p>* The Sooners also turned four double plays in the game which is a season-high.</p>
<p>* Craig Aikin's new hitting streak is now up to eight games. He went 1-for-4 on the day.</p>
<p>* Sticking with the number four, Saturday was the fourth time this season that Oklahoma has held their opponent to just one run.</p>
https://www.crimsonandcreammachine.com/2015/2/28/8128251/four-home-runs-power-oklahoma-sooners-baseball-past-byu-and-to-series-winM. Hofeld2015-02-27T22:43:29-06:002015-02-27T22:43:29-06:00Wise Does It Again As Sooners Top BYU 3-2
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<p>If you like dramatic baseball and haven't caught any of the series between Oklahoma and BYU then you've absolutely missed out. On Thursday night junior Alex Wise scored in the eighth inning, as a pinch runner, to give OU a 7-6 come from behind win. Friday afternoon it was BYU's Derrick Whitney who delivered a ninth inning home run that allowed the Cougars to snap Oklahoma's four-game winning streak by a final of 4-3.</p>
<p>On Friday evening it was Wise again, in the eight inning, who scored as a pinch runner to lead the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.crimsonandcreammachine.com/">Sooners</a> to a 3-2 win. Three games. Three one-run victories. One game left on Saturday afternoon with Oklahoma having a 2-1 advantage in the series.</p>
<p>For the third consecutive game, BYU struck first when Brennon Lund scored off a Parker Starr single. Oklahoma got one back in the second when Hunter Haley came home on a double-play ball hit by Austin O'Brien. The Sooners took a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the sixth on a called balk that allowed Craig Aikin to score from third. Aikin led off the inning with a double and then advanced to third on a Taylor Alspaugh sacrifice bunt.</p>
<p>In the top of the eighth BYU looked to take control of the game again by scoring Andy Isom but an incredible play by right fielder Taylor Alspaugh and the appearance of Jacob Evans on the mound prevented the Cougars from doing any further damage. Alspaugh threw out Lund at home plate, on what would have been the go ahead run, and Evans pitched out of the eighth inning jam and finished the ninth to record his second win of the season.</p>
<p>With the Cougars having scored to tie the game in the top half of the eighth, Wise was now set once again to be the hero in the bottom half. Suffering a broken hand last weekend, Oklahoma's junior utility guy has been relegated to a pinch runner's role. All he needed was someone to get on for him and that guy was Robert Tasin who doubled to lead off Oklahoma's half of the inning. Wise moved from second to third on a sacrifice bunt by Josh Ake and then scored the winning run when Alspaugh reached on a throwing error.</p>
<p>Oklahoma and BYU will play the fourth and final game of their series against BYU on Saturday afternoon. First pitch is scheduled for 1:00 pm.</p>
<p><b><u>Notables</u></b></p>
<p>* Senior pitcher Jeffrey Curran set career-highs in innings pitched (7.1) and strikeouts (5).</p>
<p>* Junior outfielder Craig Aiken is streaking again. Since seeing his 17-game hitting streak come to an end last weekend, he has responded by recording a hit in each of Oklahoma's last seven games.</p>
<p>* Friday night's game was Oklahoma's fourth consecutive in which they've recorded two or more doubles.</p>
<p>* The Sooners have split all three doubleheaders they've played this season.</p>
https://www.crimsonandcreammachine.com/2015/2/27/8124871/oklahoma-sooners-baseball-alex-wise-strikes-again-to-lead-ou-to-late-byu-cougarsM. Hofeld2015-02-27T19:23:17-06:002015-02-27T19:23:17-06:00Cougars Snapped Oklahoma's Winning Streak
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<p>BYU left fielder Derrick Whitney took all of the air out of what was shaping up to be a second consecutive Oklahoma Baseball comeback in as many days. Approaching the the plate with two away in the top of the ninth of a tie game, Whitney took a 1-1 offering from Oklahoma's junior righty Keaton Hernandez and sent it over the right field fence for the go ahead run.</p>
<p>After falling behind 3-1 in the top of the fifth, Oklahoma rallied in the bottom of the seventh when Sheldon Neuse and Anthony Hermelyn knocked in Josh Ake and Taylor Alspaugh. Having taken the momentum in the game it appeared as if the Sooners were going to repeat Thursdays come from behind win, until Whitney's ninth inning swing.</p>
<p>Alec Hansen went seven innings for OU and was responsible for three runs. He fanned eight Cougar batters and gave up six hits. Because of Oklahoma's seventh inning rally, the loss is credited to Hernandez rather than Hansen.</p>
<p>The 4-3 loss snapped a four-game winning streak for the Sooners that ran back to last weekend's appearance in the Big 12/Pac 12 Challenge.</p>
https://www.crimsonandcreammachine.com/2015/2/27/8124351/oklahoma-baseball-winning-streak-snapped-by-ninth-inning-home-run-byu-cougarsM. Hofeld2015-02-26T19:32:36-06:002015-02-26T19:32:36-06:00Sooners Rally To Win Fourth Straight
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<p>The magic was back for Oklahoma in Las Vegas on Thursday night and the Sooners needed every ounce of it in their come from behind win over BYU. In his worst start of the season, Jacob Elliott was rocked for six runs in 4.2 innings. Fortunately he was relieved by Robert Tasin and Jacob Evans who kept the Cougars off the board, and hitless, the rest of the way. Evans picked up the win by striking out five BYU batters over the final two innings of the game.</p>
<p>For Cougars starter Kolton Mahoney it was feast or famine. He kept Oklahoma's batters at bay through the first half of the game and then gave up runs in chunks. After a four-run top half of the fifth inning by the Cougars, OU struck for two in the bottom half and then exploded for three more in the fifth to tie it up and bounce Mahoney from from the game.</p>
<p>The decisive run came in the bottom of the eighth inning when Alex Wise crossed home plate on a Craig Aikin sacrifice to left field. Wise, playing with a broken hand, entered the game as a pinch runner for Chris Shaw who led off the inning with a double. Wise went to third on a sacrifice bunt by Josh Ake and then became the unsung hero ninety feet later when Aikin pushed him across to complete the rally and a 7-6 Sooner win.</p>
<p>Taylor Alspaugh was huge from the plate for Oklahoma in the game. The senior was 3-of-5 from the plate with three RBI and two runs scored. Aikin and Anthony Hermelyn were the only other Sooners to record multiple hits with two each. BYU shortstop Hayden Nielson was big for the Cougars by going 3-of-4 from the plate with an RBI and 2 runs scored.</p>
<p>Oklahoma's win continues a streak of four consecutive wins that goes back to last weekend's Arizona appearance in the Big 12/Pac 12 Challenge.</p>
<p>The Sooners and BYU will play two on Friday with Alec Hansen and Jeffrey Curran pulling starts for OU.</p>
<p><b><u>Notables</u></b></p>
<p>* The Sooners used their tenth lineup in eleven games.</p>
<p>* Oklahoma pitchers have struck out ten or more batters in each of the last five games.</p>
<p>* OU Baseball is 3-0 against BYU in Las Vegas and 6-1 overall against the Cougars.</p>
https://www.crimsonandcreammachine.com/2015/2/26/8118207/oklahoma-sooners-baseball-rally-to-win-fourth-straight-byu-cougarsM. Hofeld2015-02-26T15:42:10-06:002015-02-26T15:42:10-06:00Weekend Baseball Preview | Sooners vs. Cougars
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<figcaption>Rich DeCray - SB Nation</figcaption>
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<p>Escaping the inclement winter conditions that are hitting the Oklahoma City Metro Area this weekend, the <a href="https://www.crimsonandcreammachine.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Oklahoma Sooners</a> moved their weekend series with BYU to Las Vegas. The two teams will play single games on Friday and Saturday and a double-header on Friday.</p>
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<th colspan="4">Weekend Pitching Match-Ups</th>
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<td><strong>Game</strong></td>
<td><strong>Oklahoma</strong></td>
<td><strong>BYU</strong></td>
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<td>Thursday 3:00 p.m.</td>
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<p>RHP-<span>Jake Elliott</span><br><em>2-0, 0.64, 11 Ks</em></p>
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<td>RHP-Kolton Mahoney<br><em>0-1, 4.91, 9 Ks</em>
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<td>Friday (1) 3:00 p.m.</td>
<td>RHP-Alec Hansen<br><em>1-1, 6.75, 16</em>
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<td>RHP-Jeff Barker<br><em>1-1, 4.09, 8</em>
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<td>Friday (2) 6:30 p.m.</td>
<td>LHP-Jeffrey Curran<br><em>0-0, 1.29, 5</em>
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<td>RHP-Brandon Kinser<br><em>0-0, 0.93, 3</em>
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<td>Saturday 1:00 p.m.</td>
<td>TBA<em><br></em>
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<td>RHP-Maverik Buffo<br><em>0-0, 3.86, 3</em>
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<p>Oklahoma enters the weekend with a 6-4 record after a successful trip to Arizona for a game against the ASU Sun Devils and then the Big 12/Pac 12 Challenge. After dropping their first two games of the trip, Oklahoma ended the weekend with a three-game winning streak.</p>
<p>Kolby Carpenter leads the team in batting at .400 and is the reigning National Player of the Week. He's gone yard four times and driven in 11 RBI. Craig Aikin is batting .316 and has crossed home plate a team-high twelve times. Jake Elliott continues to make a strong case to be the ace of the team. In two outings he's built a 2-0 record and an astonishing 0.64 ERA. He's KO'd 11 batters in 14 innings of work.</p>
<p>BYU comes into the weekend struggling with a 1-7 record on the season. Shortstop Hayden Nielson leads they way in team batting with a .364 average and despite having a 4.91 ERA, righty Kolton Mahoney has fanned 11 batters in two starts this season.</p>
https://www.crimsonandcreammachine.com/2015/2/26/8116947/oklahoma-baseball-sooners-and-byu-cougars-collide-in-las-vegasM. Hofeld