Feb. 23, 2008

Box Score: No. 1 UCLA 7, OU 5   1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E  OU 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 4 0 5 7 2  UCLA 1 1 0 0 0 3 0 0 2 7 8 0  Pitching IP H R ER BB SO  W - Klein (1-0) 0.1 1 0 0 1 1  L - Duke (0-1)   0.0 0 1 1 1 0  Batting Leaders AB R H RBI BB SB  OU - Wise 4 2 2 0 0 0  UCLA - Haerther   3 2 2 1 1 1 Sooner Baseball Central Main Page | Ticket Information | Webcasts 2008 OU Baseball Media Guide | 2008 Game Notes Oklahoma Season Statistics | Big 12 Conference | NCAA

LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- The University of Oklahoma baseball team rallied late only to fall, 7-5, at No. 1 UCLA on Saturday in game one of a doubleheader scheduled.  Gabe Cohen sealed the victory with a two-run, walk-off homer in the bottom of the ninth.  OU's late rally, which tied the game at five in top of the eighth on senior Mike Gosse's two-run homer, was not enough.

OU entered the 2008 season knowing it would rely heavily on its talented group of newcomers for production from day one.  OU started seven newcomers in the lineup on Saturday and one more on the mound.  Five of the Sooners' seven hits on the day came off the bat of a newcomer and three of OU's five runs were driven in by a new Sooner.  In addition, all four pitchers used in game one were new to the 2008 roster.

One of OU's top newcomers, sophomore hurler Jeremy Erben did not get off to an ideal start in the first inning against the Bruins.  After the leadoff batter reached on an error, Erben loaded the bases with back-to-back walks.  Despite UCLA scoring the first run on its first out, a sacrifice fly to left field, Erben limited the damage.  The transfer from Weatherford Junior College struck the next batter and then got some help from sophomore center fielder Jamie Johnson.  With two outs and runners on second and third, UCLA's Ryan Babineau appeared to plate two more runs, but his hard hit shot to left-center field was tracked down by a sliding Johnson.

In the second frame, UCLA took a 2-0 lead on Casey Haerther's solo shot over the fence in left-center field.  Erben got into more trouble in the second, placing runners on first and second with one out, but once again battled his way out with two strikeouts to end the inning.

In the top of the fourth, OU finally got to UCLA starter Gavin Brooks.  After stranding runners in the first and third inning on walks issued by Brooks, the Sooners connected for their first hit on Casey Johnson's RBI single to right-center field, which plated junior J.T. Wise. 

The Sooners stranded two runners in the fifth before a 39-minute rain delay halted action.  Freshman Spencer Selby roped the Sooners second hit of the game up the middle of the infield.   A sacrifice bunt by junior Matt Harughty moved Selby to second, but consecutive ground outs to second base ended the threat in the sixth inning.

After settling down, Erben was effective in his OU debut, recording five strikeouts in four innings.  Erben allowed two runs, one earned, off three hits and two walks.

Erben was relieved by sophomore Chase Anderson in the top of the fifth inning.  Anderson, a transfer from North Central J.C., struck out the first two batters but ran into trouble in the sixth inning.  Brady Dolan gave UCLA a 3-1 lead off his RBI single to center.  Anderson tried to battle out of the frame by recording the second out via a strikeout, but Alden Carrithers' two-run, two-out single increased the lead to four.

Brooks lasted five innings in his start for UCLA and limited OU to one run off one hit.  Brooks struggled at times with five walks but kept OU's offense at bay with six strikeouts. 

The Sooner offense brook through in the top of the eighth with four runs off three hits off Charles Brewer.  Wise started the rally with a leadoff single and was later brought home, along with Selby, on Harughty's double to the gap in right center.  Harughty moved up to third on Casey Johnson's groundout to first base and was nearly stranded before Gosse drove his second career home run over the right-field fence. Gosse's homer, his first since April 3 of last season against TCU, knotted the game at five runs apiece.