Sooners Win Fifth In A Row With 8-2 Win Over Jayhawks

LAWRENCE, Kan. - The Oklahoma Sooners extended their winning streak to five games with an 8-2 win over the Kansas Jayhawks Friday night at Hoglund Ballpark. Oklahoma benefitted from an all-around standout team performance with a solid effort from starting pitcher Mark Roberts, 11 hits from its offense and no errors in the field.

The biggest hit of the night came off the bat of junior centerfielder Jeff Scuderi who's three run homer opened up a large lead for the Sooners.

OU improved to 17-10 overall and 5-2 in the Big 12 Conference, tying its best mark to begin conference play since the 1997 season. Kansas fell to 22-12-1 overall and 1-3 in league action.

“Mark Roberts threw really well for us tonight. He hung in there after the first inning and pitched really well the rest of the way,” commented Sooner head coach Larry Cochell.

Box Score

Roberts (5-2) allowed two runs in the first inning on a pair of hits and walks and a hit batter and then settled down over the next seven frames. He retired 20 of the last 24 batters he faced the rest of the way, including the last eight, and only allowed three more hits. His eight full frames tied his season high as he also kept his streak alive of striking out eight or more batters by fanning eight Jayhawks to extend it to six straight games.

Roberts combined with junior reliever Daniel McCutchen, who came on for the ninth inning, to hold Kansas to its lowest hit and run totals at home on the season.

OU's offense generated 11 or more hits for the fourth straight game and scored at least a run in the first inning for the fifth straight contest. With two outs in the top of the first inning, sophomore leftfielder Ryan Rohlinger (3-for-4) ignited a rally with a base hit up the middle. Junior first baseman Ole Sheldon (4-for-5) then went opposite field for a single to right field to move Rohlinger to third base and junior third baseman Matt Bose (1-for-4) placed his single in left field to plate Rohlinger for the game's first run to give OU a 1-0 lead.

Bose's clutch base hit helped him tie his career best hitting streak of nine games for the second time this season. It currently stands as the top active hitting streak on the team.

Following Kansas' two out rally to take a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the first frame, Sheldon got OU back in the game by tying the score at 2-2 in the top of the third. He hit a RBI-single to drive in sophomore second baseman Russell Raley (0-for-5) who had earlier reached base on an error by the Kansas shortstop. Rohlinger then moved Raley into scoring position with his second base hit of the game.

After failing to plate any runs with the bases loaded in the third inning, Oklahoma's luck changed in its half of the fifth inning. The Sooners loaded the bases to begin the inning with Sheldon's third single of the contest and two consecutive errors by Jayhawk fielders. Following one failed attempt at bringing in a run for the first out, sophomore catcher Brandon Lance (1-for-3) got the job done with a sacrifice fly to left field to plate the first run. Scuderi (1-for-5) then sent his Ryan Knippschild (5-4) offering just over the left field fence for three more runs and his first roundtripper of his career.

“He hit the ball very well and was able to get it out of the park,” said Cochell of Scuderi's home run. “We had two really good at bats in that inning out of our eight and nine hole hitters.”

In the top of the eighth inning, OU cushioned its lead with a pair of runs for an 8-2 advantage. The Sooners got three doubles out of the first four batters at the top of the order to score the two runs. The run-scoring doubles were produced by Rohlinger and Sheldon.

Sheldon's double completed his second four hit effort of the season and the second in the last three games.

Game two between the Sooners and the Jayhawks starts at 6 p.m. on Saturday at Hoglund Ballpark. OU's Ryan Mottern (0-0) will start on the mound and face KU's Clint Schambach (3-0).