Sooners Blanked by Broncs

EDINBURG, Texas -- The Sooners' early season struggles at the plate continued on Saturday versus Texas-Pan American in a 2-0 loss in game two of the UTPA Classic. The Broncs outhit the Sooners, 5-4, and scored the game's only runs in the fourth inning off a pair of doubles.

Jimmy Rollins (0-1) took the loss for OU after tossing four innings of five-hit ball. Rollins allowed one earned run and struck out four before handing the ball over to sophomore Stephen Porlier. The transfer from Tulane was impressive to say the least. The right-hander stuck out six over the final four innings and during one stretch, from the fifth to sixth frames, Porlier struck out five in-a-row (three looking).

UTPA took the lead in the bottom of the fourth with a pair of doubles to lead off the frame. Leighton Autrey drove in the game's first run and was later brought home on an infield grounder off the bat of Blake Whittlesey.

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On the mound, Chad Linder was solid for UTPA, striking out six over 7 2/3 innings. Stephen Davila recorded the save after allowing one hit over the final 1 1/3 innings.

"This is obviously a disappointing second loss to the season but a majority of the time you learn more from a defeat," said OU head coach Sunny Golloway. "This staff has concerns about this club because of how young it is and how discouraging these early losses can be, but we also realize that this is a process and its going to take some time to get to where we want to be."

The Sooners stranded nine base runners in Saturday's contest and finished the night 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position. Freshman Aaron Baker, who came off the bench on Friday to go 2-for-2, was one of four Sooners with a hit against the Broncs on Saturday.

Junior Aljay Davis, who walked twice in the game, stole three bases to raise his season total to four. The last time a Sooner stole three bags in a single game was on March 10, 2006 when Ryan Mottern swiped three versus Centenary.

Oklahoma was without sophomore Brandon Moss, who suffered a minor sprain to his right wrist during a collision at first base on Friday versus Texas State.

"The loss of Aaron (Reza) last week and Brandon yesterday has put some added pressure on the newcomers," added Golloway. "But at the same time, this is providing a good experience and a great challenge for someone to step up. And during each of the first two games, a different newcomer has done that."

The Sooners were shut out for the first time in 11 games since suffering an 11-0 defeat to Missouri in the Big 12 Championship in 2006. The last time OU started a season with back-to-back losses was in 2005 when it dropped a pair of games to Gonzaga and Arizona State.

The Sooners (0-2) will conclude action in the UTPA Classic in Edinburg, Texas against the host Broncs (2-0) on Sunday afternoon. First pitch is scheduled for noon with senior Joseph Hughes expected to get the start for OU. The game will be broadcast live via the internet on Yahoo with Chuck Kelly calling the play-by-play and live stats will be available on Soonersports.com.

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