Offense Propels Oklahoma Past TCU

NORMAN, Okla. -- The No. 19 Oklahoma baseball team improved to 7-0 in midweek games on Tuesday with a 13-5 victory over No. 28 TCU in front of 1,307 fans at L. Dale Mitchell Park.

OU used 13 runs off 14 hits to improve to 22-9 overall with the win while TCU fell to 21-9.

After a shaky first inning which saw TCU jump on OU starter Brad Burns with two runs in the first inning, OU bounced back with seven runs in the first frame. The Sooners are outscoring their opponents 28-7 in the first frame this year and after Tuesday's win, improved to 6-0 when tallying runs in the game's initial inning.

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“I was excited the way our guys came out after going down, 2-0, early in the ball game,” said OU head coach Sunny Golloway. “Our bats responded and its nice to score those kind of runs at home.”

Vinny Biancamano and Aaron Reza paced the Sooners' offense with two hits and three RBIs apiece.

Despite the short outing from Burns, OU received solid relief from its bullpen paced by Mottern and Chris Henry. TCU scored four runs in the first two innings and were held scoreless until the ninth inning. Henry led the charge with a career-high four innings with two strikeouts. The left-hander was followed by Danny Grande and Andrew Doyle who each recorded one spotless inning apiece.

Henry (1-0) won his first career game with the solid relief effort and TCU starter Tyler Lockwood (1-2) suffered the loss.

Down 2-0 in the first, Aaron Reza and Joseph Hughes connected for two-run singles as OU batted around in the first frame.

In the second inning, OU tagged on two more runs thanks to Reza's triple to the gap in left center and Mike Gosse's first homer as a Sooner over the right-field fence.

As the Sooners' hurlers shut down TCU, the offense added three insurance runs in the fifth and sixth innings to, eventually, defeat TCU for the sixth time in the last seven innings. OU owns a 54-25 advantage in the all-time series and will face the Horned Frogs again on April 17 in Fort Worth.

“Any time you can get a midweek win it gets your momentum going,” added Golloway. “Tonight's win is especially important with the quick turnaround this weekend because of the holiday. So we will practice tomorrow at home and head down to Waco for an important Big 12 series.”

Next up for Oklahoma is a trip south to Waco, Texas for a three-game series against Baylor, which begins on Thursday, April 5. The series opener will be broadcast live on national television by College Sports Television (CSTV) at 7 p.m. Game two is slated for 6:30 p.m. on Friday and the finale will begin at 2 p.m. on Saturday.

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