OU Drops Opener at No. 21 Missouri

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Oklahoma's struggles continued on Friday against No. 21 Missouri in a 13-3 loss at Taylor Stadium. The Tigers used three home runs, two by Jacob Priday, to outhit OU, 13-11, and win the series opener.

The Sooners have lost six straight games and stand at 28-21 overall and 8-14 in Big 12 play. Missouri improved to 34-13 and 15-7 with Friday's win.

“Our guys' are battling and the effort is there,” said OU head coach Sunny Golloway. “We have to come back tomorrow and fight hard.

“The most important thing is that we continue to pull for each other and play as a team. This is a team sport and its nobody's fault individually what is going on right now. We can fix this and we can play better.”

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After the Sooners cut the lead down to one run, 3-2, in the fourth inning, the Tigers scored nine runs over the final five innings.

Priday, who finished 4-for-4 with six RBIs, gave the Tigers a 2-0 lead on his seventh home run of the season, a two-run shot down the left-field line in the first inning off Stephen Porlier (6-5).

In the top of the third, OU cut the lead in half on Jackson Williams' RBI single through the left side of the infield. The run, scored by Joe Dunigan, was the 15th driven in by Williams in the last 11 games. Dunigan doubled earlier in the inning and scored after Aaron Ivey was thrown out at the plate on Aaron Baker's fielder's choice. The Sooners stranded two runners in the inning and eight overall in the game.

Missouri came right back in the bottom half of the third on another RBI by Priday, a run-scoring single to the gap in left-center field.

The teams exchanged runs again in the fourth inning. Joseph Hughes began the rally with a one-out triple down the right-field line. With two outs, Aljay Davis' singled down the line in left and plated Hughes for the Sooners' second run.

MIssouri put the game out of reach with a trio of three-run innings in the fifth, sixth and seventh. Priday once again was involved in the scoring in the fifth, belting his second homer of the game, a two-run shot to left.

The Sooners tallied one final run in the ninth on Aaron Ivey's ground ball to second base.

Dunigan, Hughes, Williams and Mike Gosse led OU with two hits apiece.

Oklahoma and Missouri will resume the three-game set on Saturday at 2 p.m. OU' s Heath Taylor (7-3, 3.98 ERA) is expected to start opposite Missouri's Rick Zagone (6-1, 5.35 ERA).

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