No. 18 Oklahoma Holds On For 8-7 Win Over No. 13 Texas A&M

COLLEGE STATION, Texas - Despite Texas A&M scoring two runs in the bottom of the ninth inning, No. 18 Oklahoma held on for an 8-7 win over the 13th-ranked Aggies Saturday night at Olsen Field.

Texas A&M sent seven men to the plate in the final frame and scored two runs before junior closer Jarod McAuliff closed the door on the Aggies for his fifth save.

The win, and a loss by first place Texas, puts Oklahoma (24-13, 11-3 Big 12) in sole possession of first place in the Big 12 Conference. A&M dropped to 31-10 overall and evened its record in Big 12 play to 7-7.

“I was very happy with our offensive effort tonight,” said OU head coach Larry Cochell. “We got some big hits from several players tonight, including Ole Sheldon, Brenan Herrera and Jeff Scuderi.”

Box Score

Oklahoma's offense got some big performances out of several of its players in the game. Scuderi (2-for-5) went deep for his second home run and scored two runs, while Sheldon (2-for-5) drove in a pair. Both players extended their current hitting streaks to a team best 14 games.

Herrera (3-for-5) and sophomore second baseman Russell Raley (2-for-4) both tied career highs as Raley scored three runs and Herrera turned in a three-hit effort for the second time this season.

Junior lefthander David Purcey (5-3) picked up his fifth win of the season tonight as he kept the Sooners in the game. Purcey's night ended in the eighth inning after pitching a career high 7.1 innings. He surrendered five runs on nine hits, walked four and fanned nine batters.

McAuliff's appearance tied the school's career record of 83 which is also held by former Sooner Evan Greusel who originally set the mark from 1999-2002.

A passed ball allowed Texas A&M's first run to score in the bottom of the first inning to get the Aggies on the scoreboard.

Oklahoma responded by capturing the lead in the top of the second inning with a pair of runs. After senior rightfielder Andrew McGuire (0-for-3) and freshman designated hitter Ryan Mottern (1-for-2) reached base on a fielder's choice and single to right field, respectively, both baserunners moved up into scoring position on a double steal. Sophomore catcher Brandon Lance (0-for-2) brought home McGuire for the first run on a groundout to second base. Freshman leftfielder Chad Lembeck (1-for-3) then drove in the go-ahead run with a single to left field.

Junior third baseman Brenan Herrera (3-for-5) tripled to lead off the fourth inning and scored in the next at bat on a sacrifice fly by McGuire to put the Sooners up 3-1.

A three-run fourth inning helped the Aggies regain the lead at 4-3. A&M leftfielder Travis Bartek hit a bases loaded double to drive in a pair and second baseman Erik Schindewolf grounded out to second base to bring in the third run.

Scuderi sent his second home run of the season over the left field fence to spark a two-run rally for the Sooners which helped them take back the lead. Raley walked and moved to second on a single by sophomore shortstop Ryan Rohlinger (2-for-4). Sheldon, OU's RBI leader, drove in his 29th run of the season with a RBI-single to right field and a 5-4 advantage.

The Aggies tied the game for the fourth time in the sixth inning when a throwing error by Purcey on a base hit by first baseman Coby Mavroulis came back to hurt him in the form of a run on a RBI-single by centerfielder John Infante.

Scuderi collected his second extra base hit of the game in the seventh inning when he led off the frame with a triple to right field. Raley stepped to the plate and knocked him in with a base hit to break the tie and give the Sooners a 6-5 lead. After Raley was sacrificed to second base, Sheldon drove in his second run of the game with a double to right field to cushion the lead at 7-5.

Oklahoma added an insurance run in the top of the ninth inning as Raley doubled to lead off the inning and was brought hom on a two out single to left field by Herrera.

The series concludes on Sunday at 1 p.m. at Olsen Field. Both starting pitchers have yet to be determined.