Sooners Break Out Bats In 7-4 Win Over Cowboys

April 26, 2003

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. - The Oklahoma baseball team put on one of his best offensive shows of the season in a 7-4 victory over No. 20 Oklahoma State Saturday night in front of 11,209 fans at the SBC Bricktown Ballpark. The Sooners spread out their 12 hits throughout the lineup as all but one starter recorded a hit. A night after the Cowboys plated seven of their eight runs with two outs, the Sooners turned the tables on OSU and rallied for four of their runs after two were gone in an inning. OU's relief ace, sophomore righthander Jarod McAuliff came on to close out the game for his sixth save of the season and lock up the win for starter Casey Brown (2-1). Oklahoma improved to 15-24 overall and 3-14 in the Big 12 Conference, while Oklahoma State dropped to 28-14 overall and 10-7 in the league.

The Sooners' winning run came in the sixth inning to break a 4-4 tie with a two run frame. Freshman third baseman Russell Raley (1-for-3) scored on a sacrifice fly by sophomore left fielder Brandon Jones (1-for-3) to give OU a lead it would not relinquish. Raley led off the inning by drawing a walk and then moved to third base courteousy of two consecutive sacrifice bunts, one of which placed senior designated hitter Luke Alexander (1-for-2) on base due to a fielding error by the OSU catcher. Alexander scored later in the inning on a single by Kitch to give the Sooners a 6-4 advantage.

Oklahoma sophomore reliever David Purcey worked three scoreless frames from the sixth through the eighth innings to hold off any potential threats by Oklahoma State. Purcey recorded all three outs in the seventh inning on strikeouts and got out of trouble with two baserunners on and one out in the eighth inning to end the Cowboys' best scoring chance since the sixth.

Brown picked up the win in his second start of the season after encountering a shaky first inning. He gave up a two run homer to Cowboys' center fielder Jose Virgil which gave State an early 2-0 lead but then settled down to give up only two more runs the rest of the way. He was relieved after the fifth inning after allowing eight hits (four of which came after the first frame), four earned runs, two walks and striking out three.

Oklahoma fought back after Oklahoma State's two run first inning with single runs in the next four straight frames before plating the winning runs in the sixth. In the second inning, OU responded by putting together a string of three straight base hits ending with a single by Alexander which drove in sophomore first baseman Matt Bose (3-for-5).

After the Cowboys plated a third run in the bottom of the frame to extend its lead to 3-1, the Sooners plated runs in the next two innings to tie the game. OU senior center fielder Reggie Willits (1-for-5) scored on a RBI-single by sophomore right fielder Greg Kish (2-for-4) in the third. Kitch then singled in the first of his two runs in the fourth inning with two outs to bring home Alexander from third base and tie the game at 3-3.

The Sooners cashed in on another two out opportunity in the fifth inning to take a 4-3 lead when Bose singled in sophomore right fielder Greg Kish (2-for-4), who moved into scoring position after a base hit and stealing second.

OSU tied the game again in the bottom of the inning when catcher Jason Jaramillo singled home Virgil, who had led off with a walk, with two outs.

In the eighth inning, OU added an insurance run as Jones' two out double turned into a run for the Sooners when the Cowboys third baseman failed to make the play on a sharply hit grounder to third base.

The series finale is set for 3 p.m. Sunday afternoon at the SBC Bricktown Ballpark. Lefty Buddy Blair (2-6) is scheduled to start for the Sooners while righthander Joe Weaver (3-3) will start on the mound for the Cowboys.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

Sooners Break Out Bats In 7-4 Win Over Cowboys

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