OU Wins Finale to End Skid at Texas

AUSTIN, Texas -- The No. 17 Oklahoma baseball team salvaged its series with No. 7 Texas on Sunday during a 5-2 victory at UFCU Disch-Falk Field. The Sooners ended a two-game losing streak to improve to 21-9 overall on the season and 3-3 in Big 12 Conference action.

The win also ended a 15-game losing streak for the Sooners in Austin with the last win coming on March 29, 1997. Texas dropped to 25-9 overall and 7-2 in conference play.

The Sooners pulled away on Aaron Reza's two-run single in the fifth inning which gave OU a 4-2 lead. Reza, Joe Dunigan and Aaron Ivey led OU with two hits apiece on the afternoon and Joseph Hughes (5-1) allowed two runs off six hits and one walk throughout five innings.

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“The coaches are really proud of the mental toughness our guys displayed today,” said OU head coach Sunny Golloway. “This team did not know, until today, that we had lost 15 straight games in 10 years here and that was our motivating factor after dropping two closely fought games on Friday and Saturday.”

For the first time in the series, the Sooners jumped on top first with Joe Dunigan's RBI single in the third. The run-scoring single plated Vinny Biancamano and in the end, helped improve OU's mark to 12-2 this season when scoring first.

In the fourth inning, Texas countered to take a 2-1 lead with a sacrifice fly off the bat of Kyle Russell and a solo home run to left by Preston Clark.

Oklahoma came right back in its next plate appearance and doubled up Texas with three runs in the frame. Aaron Ivey began the inning with a single up the middle and moved up to second on Aljay Davis' bunt single. Following the successful bunt, Aaron Baker drove in a run and was immediately followed by Reza's game-winning hit.

Keith Shinaberry, who pitched 2/3 of an inning, dropped to 0-1 on the season after surrendering the lead.

After the Sooners responded with three runs in the fifth, the OU defense recorded a big out following Chase Fuller's leadoff triple in the fifth. The play saw Aaron Reza field Nick Peoples ground ball deep in the hole to short and throw home to preserve the two-run Oklahoma lead. Despite placing a runner on third for the second time in the inning with a single, stolen base and an error, the Longhorns came up short after Chance Wheeless' flied out to the track in right field.

As Hughes provided another strong start for the Sooners, Nich Conaway closed out the game with four solid innings and four strikeouts to record his second save of the season.

While OU's pitching shut down the Big 12's top scoring team, Jackson Williams drove a shot over the left-field fence, his second homer of the year, to give OU an insurance run in the eighth. OU outpaced Texas in the hits column with an 11-7 advantage and improved to 12-3 when connecting for 10 or more hits in a game this season.

“I think today was real important to get another win not just in the Big 12 standings, but to come in here and show that we can compete with anyone in the country, anywhere in the country,” added Golloway. “We need to build off this win as we face a quick turnaround with TCU and Baylor next week.”

The Sooners return to action on Tuesday, April 3 to host TCU (21-8). First pitch on Tuesday is slated for 7 p.m. and the game will mark a $.50 hot dog and coke night at L. Dale Mitchell Park.

Following the midweek contest, OU will travel south to Waco, Texas for a three-game series against Baylor, which begins on Thursday, April 5 and ends on Saturday, April 7. The series opener will be broadcast live on national television by College Sports Television (CSTV).

Below is a look at the Big 12 standings after Sunday's action:

Big 12 Standings	Big 12 (Pct.)	Overall (Pct.)
1. Oklahoma State	5-1 (.833)	22-6 (.786)
2. Texas	7-2 (.777)	25-9 (.735)
3. Missouri	4-2 (.667)	22-8 (.733)
4. Texas A&M	5-4 (.555)	25-6 (.806)
5. Kansas State	3-3 (.500)	20-8 (.714)
6. OKLAHOMA	3-3 (.500)	21-9 (.700)
7. Texas Tech	4-5 (.444)	20-12 (.625)
8. Nebraska	3-6 (.333)	16-11 (.593)
9. Kansas	3-6 (.333)	16-17 (.485)
10. Baylor	2-7 (.222)	16-17 (.533)

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