No. 22 OU Sweeps Missouri in Dramatic Fashion

NORMAN, Okla. - Oklahoma junior centerfielder Jeff Scuderi recorded a walk-off base hit with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth inning to lift the Sooners to a 4-3 victory over the Missouri Tigers Sunday afternoon at L. Dale Mitchell Park.

The three-run ninth inning rally completed the Sooners' fifth come-from-behind victory in the last three Big 12 Conference series, extended their Big 12 winning streak to nine games and wrapped up their third straight conference series sweep.

The win kept Oklahoma (22-11, 10-2 Big 12) in first place in the Big 12 standings as the team's 10th league win tied its entire conference win total of the 2003 season. Missouri fell to 21-12-1 overall and 2-7 in the Big 12 with their sixth-straight loss.

“When you're down in the ballgame its so important to get that first guy on and Ole (Sheldon) did a good job of that and then (Matt) Bose followed with another single,” said OU head coach Larry Cochell.

“We got another good at bat from (Eric) Thornton who got a good hit on his pitch to drive the runs in,” continued Cochell. “It just came down to execution and that's the name of the ballgame.”

Box Score

Oklahoma constructed their ninth inning rally by leading off with three straight hits to begin its half of the frame. Junior first baseman Ole Sheldon (1-for-4) ignited the rally with a leadoff single followed by junior third baseman Matt Bose's (1-for-4) base hit.

Following a pitching change for the visiting Tigers, junior designated hitter Eric Thornton (2-for-4) welcomed Missouri reliever Dustin Braud (3-2) with a double to left-center field to bring home both baserunners to knot the game at 3-3. Thornton continued on to third base as Missouri unsuccessfully tried to throw Bose out at the plate.

With Thornton standing on third base, the Tigers chose to intentionally walk the next two batters to load the bases with no outs before bringing in the second reliever of the inning. The new Missouri pitcher, Mark Alexander, started Scuderi off with three straight balls before the junior centerfielder made the count full by fouling off several pitches.

Scuderi finally connected on an offering and sent the ball just inside the left field line for a walk-off single that allowed Thornton to come home for the winning run.

The fourth Sooner reliever of the afternoon, junior righthander Daniel McCutchen (3-1), picked up the victory to cap off a standout game for the Oklahoma bullpen. After OU starting pitcher Ryan Mottern exited the game after giving up all three Missouri runs in the first 0.1 innings of the game, Oklahoma's bullpen staff turned in a solid relief outing to hold the Tigers scoreless for the remainder of the contest. Missouri managed three hits off of Mottern and then only three more off of the quartet of Sooner relievers.

The first out of the pen, senior Charlie House, came on to get the final two outs of the first frame on an inning-ending double play. House's outing improved his inherited runners stat over his last five appearances to leaving all seven inherited baserunners during that stretch stranded.

After pitching another two scoreless frames, House gave way to senior righty Casey Brown who continued to keep the Tigers off the scoreboard for another 1.2 innings.

Freshman reliever Charles Benoit and McCutchen were the final two pitchers used by the Sooners. Benoit got the final out of the fifth inning to leave a baserunner stranded in scoring position before McCutchen finished off the final four frames. McCutchen worked out of some bases loaded trouble in the sixth inning before retiring the final nine Tigers of the game.

Missouri's three-run lead held up until the bottom of the fifth inning when Oklahoma touched up Tiger starting pitcher Garrett Broshuis for a single run. OU sophomore catcher Brandon Lance (1-for-3) singled up the middle to spark the rally. After moving over to third base on a consecutive single by Scuderi, Lance scored on a fielder's choice by sophomore second baseman Russell Raley (0-for-4).

The Sooners next face Air Force at 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday at L. Dale Mitchell Park. The time is a change from an originally scheduled 7 p.m. start time to accomodate the Falcons' travel arrangements.

No. 22 OU Sweeps Missouri in Dramatic Fashion

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No. 22 OU Sweeps Missouri in Dramatic Fashion

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