Baker Keys Extra-Inning Victory

NORMAN, Okla. -- The No. 20 Oklahoma baseball team needed 11 innings to overcome an early 4-0 deficit and top No. 8 Texas A&M, 8-7, to win the Sooners' first series this season in Big 12 play. Aaron Baker drove in the game-winning run in the bottom of the 11th inning, the Sooners' fourth win in their last at-bat, on a single to center field and finished the game with two hits and three RBIs.

Garrett Richards, who entered Sunday's game leading the Big 12 with seven saves, earned his first career victory after surrendering one run on three hits and a walk over a career-high 4 2/3 innings pitched.

Kirkland Rivers (1-2) was handed the loss after allowing the decisive hit in the 11th inning.

The win, OU's 10th comeback victory of the season, improves its overall record to 20-7 overall and 2-1 in Big 12 play, while Texas A&M dropped to 22-5 and 3-3.

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“We are young and for this club to win two out of three in its first Big 12 series over a higher-ranked team, speaks volumes,” said OU head coach Sunny Golloway. “We took one out of the loss column and put in the win column today. We kept battling back when a lot of teams might have given up.”

After Texas A&M built an early 4-0 lead, the Sooners' offense, which was held hitless in the first three innings, awoke to score its first run in the bottom of the fourth. Jackson Williams' (1-for-4, RBI) sacrifice fly to center field plated Joe Dunigan (3-for-4, two RBIs) in the fourth inning to narrow the Aggies' lead to three runs.

In the fifth, Dunigan came up to the plate and delivered a two-run homer over the left-field fence. The junior's team-leading sixth long ball of the season came with Aaron Reza (2-for-5, two runs) on first base. Dunigan also increased his team-leading RBI total to 33 with the two-run shot.

As Oklahoma cut the Texas A&M lead to one run, Brad Burns limited the Aggies to one run off one hit in four innings of relief. Burns came in after starter Joseph Hughes was taken out of the ball game in the second inning due to sickness.

Texas A&M extended its lead to three runs (6-3) off OU reliever Nich Conaway, who came in to relieve Burns in the sixth inning. Conaway lasted one inning and struck out three batters before giving way to Richards in the seventh.

In the seventh inning, Stouffer drove in the Aggies' seventh run of the game off Richards to build their largest lead of the game, four runs. With the 7-3 lead, Texas A&M starter Kyle Nicholson gave up his fourth and fifth runs of the game during the Sooners' at-bat in the eighth frame. Nicholson lasted 7 1/3 innings but paved the way for OU's four runs in the eighth inning.

Baker started the rally in the eighth with a two-run single up the middle off Nicholson to plate Dunigan and Reza. Baker moved up to second on Williams' single to center field and both runners scored on Aaron Ivey's game-tying single to center field with two outs. The clutch hit was the lone hit of the game for Ivey but none were bigger for OU as it manufactured five runs off six hits on Sunday with two outs on the board.

OU's defense kept Texas A&M at bay as it turned two key double plays in the later innings. In the tenth, the Aggies threatened to regain the lead with the bases loaded and one out with Josh Stinson at the plate. Stinson's grounder up the middle found Aljay Davis' glove, who after showing range to his right side made the toss to Reza at second base to begin the inning-ending double play.

In the 11th inning, Parker Dalton drove a leadoff single up the middle before running into a double play during the Aggies' next at-bat. Dalton was doubled up after Ivey caught Brandon Hicks fly out to center field and the relay throw reached first before he could return.

OU has four days to prepare for next weekend's Red River showdown in Austin, Texas. The three-game series with No. 9 Texas (22-8, 5-1) begins on Friday, March 30 and concludes on Sunday, April 1.

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