Mavericks 12-Run Frame Sinks No. 20 Sooners, 18-12

NORMAN, Okla. - Texas-Arlington used a 12-run sixth inning to take a lead it would not relinquish as the Mavericks left L. Dale Mitchell Park with an 18-12 victory over No. 20 Oklahoma on Wednesday afternoon. The Sooners put together a solid offensive showing of their own by scoring their runs on 13 hits, including a couple of two-run homers by junior third baseman Kyle Bradburry and senior rightfielder Andrew McGuire, but the effort was not enough to overcome OU's pitching breakdown. Oklahoma fell to 10-4 with the loss, while Texas-Arlington improved to 9-6.

“I think we did well offensively today. When you get 12 runs on 13 hits, that should be enough to win you the game,” said Oklahoma head coach Larry Cochell afterwards. “We just didn't pitch well today. I'm disappointed with our effort.”

Box Score

The beginning of the game looked promising for Oklahoma. The Sooners jumped on UTA starter Derek Brehm early and tagged him for five runs on two hits in the first inning. Oklahoma's effort at the plate was aided by two Texas-Arlington errors in the field. Junior shortstop Brenan Herrera (2-for-4) and redshirt-freshman leftfielder Blake Hurlbutt (1-for-2) hit back-to-back two-RBI singles to account for four of the runs. Hurlbutt, who moved over to third base following consecutive stolen bases, eventually scored the fifth run of the inning on a throwing error by the Mavericks' catcher.

Texas-Arlington got all five runs back in the top of the second frame. The Mavericks capitalized on a bases loaded situation as a walk forced in the first run before UTA catcher Brett Lewis drove in two more runs with a single. The final two runs scored on a groundout and a single by leftfielder Hunter Pence.

Oklahoma then doubled their first inning effort with five more runs through the next four innings. In the second inning, junior first baseman Ole Sheldon (1-for-4) doubled in sophomore second baseman Russell Raley (2-for-4) for the first run of the frame. McGuire (2-for-4) then followed with a RBI-single to plate Sheldon for the second run and a 7-5 lead.

Bradburry (2-for-4) was responsible for two more runs in the third frame with his first career homer, a two-run shot to left field.

After UTA scored a single run in the fourth inning, junior designated hitter Eric Thornton (2-for-4) put OU ahead 10-6 in the bottom of the fifth frame by singling home Herrera who led off the inning with a double.

The flood gates opened in the top half of the sixth inning when Texas-Arlington worked four Oklahoma pitchers for the 12 runs. After silencing UTA to one run on three hits over the previous three innings, senior righthander Charlie House exited after putting two men on to lead off the inning.

Junior righty Daniel McCutchen (0-1) gave up the winning runs as he allowed three more hits and three runs to score, without securing an out, before being lifted in favor of senior righty Mike Swindell. Swindell surrendered four additional hits for five runs to add to UTA's offensive explosion. Freshman Charles Benoit then finished off the inning by allowing three more run-scoring hits before getting the Sooners out of the frame.

OU got two of the runs back in the bottom of the inning on McGuire's first home run of the season, which also scored Raley. McGuire's three RBI and Raley's three runs scored in the game established new career bests for both players.

OU opens a three-game set against Creighton on Friday at 3 p.m. at L. Dale Mitchell Park. The series continues on Saturday at 12 p.m. and wraps up Sunday at 1 p.m.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

Mavericks 12-Run Frame Sinks No. 20 Sooners, 18-12

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