No. 21 Baseball Wins MSU Series

NORMAN, Okla. -- The No. 21 Oklahoma Sooners won their second straight game over Michigan State on Sunday, 5-0, to win the three-game series during the last weekend of non-conference play.

Joe Dunigan's three-run homer in the first inning was all the run support Joseph Hughes would need as he improved his mark to 4-1 with a career-high nine strikeouts.

The Sooners improved to 17-6 with the victory while Michigan State dropped to 6-8. OU also improved to 13-1 at home this season and will battle No. 16 Texas A&M (19-3) next weekend in Norman for its Big 12 opener.

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Offense was not plentiful in the series finale as OU blanked MSU to record its second shutout of the season (Feb. 23 vs. Western Illinois, 1-0) and then tied a season low with four hits. Dunigan's home run, his fourth of the season, was followed up by Cory Williamson's inside-the-park home run in the fifth and singles by Jackson Williams and Aaron Ivey in the sixth and seventh, respectively.

The Spartans' John Dwan fell to 1-2 after allowing five runs (one earned) on four hits and one walk over seven innings pitched.

OU first baseman Aaron Baker's hitting streak of 22 games ended with two walks and an 0-for-2 day at the plate. The freshman's mark ranks third best at Oklahoma behind Derek Wathan's 25-game streak (1997-1998) and Marty Neff's 27-game steak (1991). Following his second walk of the game in the eighth frame, Baker was taken out for a pinch runner and received a standing ovation from the Sooners' bench and the fans in attendance.

“Aaron deserves to be recognized for his impressive start to the season,” said OU head coach Sunny Golloway. “Throughout this streak we never really talked much about it, so it was nice to see him get the curtain call in the eighth inning.

“I congratulated him and told him he will start a new one on Tuesday. With him being a freshman and to be this talented in his career, who is to say he won't put together another run like this and break the record.”

With the offense struggling, pitching was the story on Sunday for Oklahoma.

In his second start on the mound in six days, Hughes was impressive over seven innings against the Spartans. The left-hander began the game by striking out the side and finished by not allowing a run or a walk while scattering eight hits. Hughes topped his previous career high of five strikeouts with nine on Sunday to win his fourth consecutive start.

“Michigan State is a predominantly left-handed hitting club and after Heath Taylor's start on Saturday, we felt Joe could repeat that performance today,” said Golloway. “That same theory holds true in Big 12 play as Texas A&M and Texas have a lot of lefties and a lot of speed. And having left-handed arms on the mound helps neutralize that and Joe proved he can help us do that today. He pitched well and he really has been solid over his last couple of starts.”

The Sooners have won 15 of their last 17 games and will look to extend the current winning streak to three games with a March 20 contest against Dallas Baptist. First pitch on Tuesday is slated for 7 p.m. at the Dr. Pepper Ballpark (home of the AA affiliate of the Texas Rangers, the Frisco RoughRiders) in Frisco, Texas.

Following the midweek game, OU will begin the Big 12 portion of the schedule with Texas A&M at L. Dale Mitchell Park on March 23-25.