Baseball Edges Dallas Baptist, 2-1

NORMAN, Okla. -- Brad Burns earned his first victory in over two years with a career-high eight strikeouts in the No. 23 Sooners' 2-1 win over Dallas Baptist on Wednesday at L. Dale Mitchell Park.

Joe Dunigan drove in the first run of the game on a ground out to short and Aaron Ivey's run-scoring single in the sixth proved to be enough as OU improved to 8-0 in midweek games this season. The Sooners and Patriots each connected for seven base hits on the evening.

The win moves OU's overall record to 24-11 while Dallas Baptist dropped to 18-17. The Sooners also defeated the Patriots earlier this season in Frisco, Texas by a 9-7 count.

OU is currently 4-5 in Big 12 play and will host Nebraska (21-12, 5-7) this weekend in a three-game set at L. Dale Mitchell Park.

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“This was a good win for us but we still need our offense to pick things up,” said OU head coach Sunny Golloway. “We have an important series coming up this weekend with Nebraska coming into town. They are playing well right now and we need a series win to stay in the hunt for the Big 12 Championship.”

Burns made his ninth appearance on Wednesday and fifth start of the year to record his first win since the 2005 season (April 2 at Baylor). Burns lasted 5 2/3 innings and limited the Patriots to five hits and three walks. After a shaky start, the right-hander settled down to record eight strikeouts, the most in his OU career.

“I felt good out there, especially during the last two innings,” said Burns, who is 3-1 in his collegiate career. “I just wanted to put the team in a position to win tonight. I had a rough start but had got some help from the defense.

The Patriots didn't score until Burns' outing ended and Heath Taylor took over on the mound. Dallas Baptist tacked on its only run off Taylor in the seventh inning when Matt Tucker drove in Evan Bigley.

That was all the offense DBU could produce behind freshman Victor Black's strong start. Black struck out seven Sooners through six innings and allowed two runs off six hits and three walks.

Nich Conaway followed Taylor out of the bullpen and freshman Garrett Richards recorded his ninth save of the season and is tied for the Big 12 lead in that category.

Offensively, Ivey led the Sooners with three hits but none were bigger than his game-winning single in the sixth. Aaron Baker started the sixth frame with a single through the right side of the infield with one out. After Devin Shepherd's walk moved Baker to second base, Ivey plated the run on a single to right center.

The Sooners' first run was made possible by Aljay Davis' (2-for-2) triple to the gap in right-center field. Davis' blast extended his hitting streak to six games and one batter later, he was brought home on Dunigan's team-leading 35th RBI of the season, scored on a grounder to short.

The Sooners and Cornhuskers will kick off this weekend's series on Friday, April 13 at 7 p.m. in Norman. Saturday's game, slated for a 3:06 p.m. first pitch, will be broadcast live on Fox Sports Southwest. The three-game series will come to a close on Sunday at 1 p.m. at L. Dale Mitchell Park.

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