No. 1 Texas Edges No. 23 Oklahoma, 5-4

NORMAN, Okla. - A ninth inning Oklahoma rally fell short as the 23rd-ranked Sooners were edged 5-4 by top-ranked Texas Sunday afternoon at L. Dale Mitchell Park. After plating one run early in the frame, the Sooners failed to score the tying or winning runs after placing three men on third base in the inning with at least one out. The win helped Texas (26-3, 2-1 Big 12) clinch the series victory over Oklahoma (12-9, 1-2 Big 12) as the two teams split the first two games.

“We had plenty of opportunities to score in the ninth inning and didn't. We just left too many men on base today,” said OU head coach Larry Cochell.

“It was tough to lose two out of three to them, but I think we played toe-to-toe with the No. 1 team in the country and that shows what we're capable of doing.”

Box Score

Texas hurler J. Brent Cox picked up his second save of the series, and third of the year, by collecting strikeouts for the final two outs of the ninth inning with men at third base both times. Oklahoma had rallied for a run earlier in the frame as sophomore designated hitter Ryan Rohlinger (3-for-5) delivered a RBI-single to drive in redshirt-freshman Blake Hurlbutt (1-for-1), who had ignited the rally at the start of the inning with an infield single.

The loss dropped OU starting pitcher Mark Roberts to 4-2 on the year. Roberts pitched valiantly through the first seven frames and held UT to five hits while tying his career high of nine strikeouts for the second straight week. At one point between the first and third innings, he struck out six of seven batters including five in a row.

Roberts only troublesome inning occurred in the fifth frame when he allowed his only three runs. After easily securing the first out of the inning to lead off the frame, Roberts hit a batter and gave up consecutive RBI-singles to leftfielder Carson Kainer and centerfielder Drew Stubbs to allow the first two runs to score. Then after getting the second out, rightfielder Hunter Harris drove in another run with a two out single to give Texas a 3-2 lead.

OU struck first in the bottom of the second inning to take an early lead in the ballgame. Junior first baseman Ole Sheldon (2-for-5) led off the frame with a single and advanced to second base on a walk to junior third baseman Matt Bose (1-for-3). Two batters later, sophomore catcher Brandon Lance (1-for-2) drove him in with a single.

Lance drove in his second run of the game in the fourth inning with a sacrifice fly to center field to extend the Sooner lead to 2-0. The fly ball scored senior rightfielder Andrew McGuire (0-for-2) who led off the inning by being hit by a pitch.

After Texas scored another run in the top of the eighth inning to lead 4-2, Oklahoma answered in the bottom of the frame to draw within a run. Sophomore second baseman Russell Raley (1-for-3) hit a leadoff double and scored two batters later on a fielder's choice by Sheldon.

Oklahoma travels to Tulsa on Tuesday for a mid-week game against Oral Roberts. The action starts at 7 p.m. at J.L. Johnson Stadium.