Sooners Score 20 to Top Wildcats

MANHATTAN, Kan. -- The Oklahoma Sooners rebounded from Friday's 10-6 loss to cruise past Kansas State in game two Saturday, 20-9, at Tointon Stadium. The Sooners drove in six runs in the second and third innings, led by Aljay Davis' six RBIs and four hits, to improve to 26-15 overall and 6-8 in Big 12 play. Heath Taylor pitched six hard-fought innings to improve to 7-1 to drop Kansas State to 25-14 and 6-8.

Davis became the first Sooner to drive in six or more runs since Chris Elbright collected nine RBIs against Oklahoma City on March 28, 1987. The Sooners' ninth (Joseph Hughes), leadoff (Aaron Ivey) and two-hole hitters (Davis) connected for 11 hits and 10 RBIs in Saturday's game. OU outhit KSU 21-12.

“We had a good approach today and I thought we were very good offensively,” said OU head coach Sunny Golloway. “Our guys did a great job of scoring more runs, even after they narrowed the gap. This was a good win for us today and we are looking forward to coming back out for tomorrow's game. We have put ourselves into a position to win a very hard fought series on the road.”

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The Wildcats jumped on top first with a two-out, run-scoring double down the left-field line by Byron Wiley in the first frame. After a walk to Brett Scott, Nate Tenbrink's single up the middle appeared to score Wiley, but OU centerfielder Joseph Hughes threw down Scott as he tried to advance to third before the run crossed the plate.

After Hughes saved a run in the first, he came back in the second to lay down a squeeze bunt that scored Jackson Williams, who doubled to lead off the inning, from third. On top of tying the game at one apiece, Hughes reached first base safely, and later scored, thanks to KSU pitcher Chase Bayuk fumbling the transfer from first baseman Drew Biery.

The scoring continued in the second as Bayuk walked three consecutive batters. Two of the free passes issued to Davis and Aaron Reza brought home OU runs, loading the bases for Ryan Mottern with one out on the board. Mottern increased his career average to .500 with the bases loaded (3-for-6) as his double of the wall in left plated three runs.

The six runs in the second inning equaled the Sooners' total from the previous game. OU batted around in the third inning and stretched its lead to 12-1 with another six-run frame. Aaron Ivey brought home the first run after being hit by KSU reliever Todd Vogel. Davis followed with a run-scoring single and back-to-back doubles by Aaron Baker (two RBI) and Williams (RBI) followed.

Despite the 12-1 lead, OU was not able to hold KSU at bay as Taylor walked three and surrendered five runs on three hits in the bottom of the third inning.

Video

Baseball Archive

Coach Golloway reviews the Sooners' win

The Sooners' skipper recaps Heath Taylor's performance

Aljay Davis is interviewed following his big game

Kansas State and Oklahoma exchanged runs in the fourth inning. Aljay Davis gave OU a 13-6 lead in the top half of the frame on a single through the left side of the infield. Davis, who missed his first start on Friday due to tightness in his back, plated Ivey on the Sooners' ninth base hit of the game. The Wildcats quickly countered in the bottom of the fourth with a solo homer off the bat of Byron Wiley.

Taylor, who leads OU with seven wins, settled down and looked solid in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings after allowing Kansas to score six runs (four earned) on five hits and seven walks in the first three frames (one strikeout). In his last three innings of work, Taylor struck out four batters and limited KSU to one run on two hits and zero walks.

The Sooners added extra insurance in the sixth with Joseph Hughes' two-run home run to left and Davis' RBI double. In the eighth, Davis drove in his sixth run of the game on a single to center field.

OU extended the lead with three more runs in the ninth to reach the 20-run plateau. The Sooners have scored 20 or more runs in three games this season and the last time they tallied 20 scores in a conference game was against Kansas State on May 7, 2004. The 21-6 loss was also the last time the Wildcats allowed 20 runs in a game.

Kansas State's Chase Bayuk dropped to 3-4 after allowing six runs on two hits and five walks in the start (1 1/3 innings).

The Sooners and Wildcats will conclude the three-game series on Sunday at 1 p.m.