OU Rallies for Win, Completes Sweep

April 26, 2009

No. 13 OU 11, No. 9 Baylor 8 | Box Score

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
OU	2	1	0	0	1	1	6	0	0	11	14	0
BU	2	1	2	3	0	0	0	0	0	8	10	1

Pitching	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
W - Anderson (1-1)	4.1	1	0	0	2	5
L - Tolleson (0-1)	4.0	8	6	3	1	6
S - Duke (10)	1.0	0	0	0	0	1

Batting Leaders	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	HR
OU - Baker	5	2	2	4	0	2
OU - Ellison	5	2	4	0	0	0

GAME NOTES
The Sooners have won five out of the six Big 12 series in 2009 after winning three a year ago ... With 10 home runs over the weekend, OU has connected for 10 or more in three Big 12 series this year (15 at Kansas State and 12 vs. Nebraska) ... Aaron Baker is the fourth Sooner to have multiple homers in a game this season and Sunday's performance marked the second such outing this season and third of his career ... The Sooners had two home runs in the first inning and three more in the seventh, marking the ninth and 10th time this season they have hit multiple homers in a frame ... Oklahoma has 74 homers this season and has cleared the fences in 17 of the last 21 games with 49 in that span ... OU has multiple homers in 15 games in 2009, including eight in Big 12 play ... In addition, nine of those 15 games included three or more homers ... OU has hit 44 homers in Big 12 play ... The Sooners have posted double-digit hits in all but 18 games this season and own a 23-3 mark ... OU is 17-0 when scoring 10 or more runs in 2009 ... OU has scored first in 13 of the last 17 games, including 11 of the 17 Big 12 contests ... The Sooners are 21-6 this season when tallying the game's first score.

Sooner Baseball Central

Main Page | Ticket Information | Webcasts

2009 OU Baseball Media Guide | 2009 Game Notes

Oklahoma Season Statistics | Big 12 Conference | NCAA

WACO, Texas -- Sweeping a three-game series in the Big 12 Conference is not easy, especially on the road. After winning games one and two at No. 9 Baylor on Friday and Saturday, No. 13 Oklahoma accomplished the feat after it scored eight unanswered runs to come from behind on Sunday for an 11-8 win.

The conference sweep was the first for OU (33-11, 11-7) since taking three from Texas Tech in Lubbock in 2006. The 0-3 weekend for the Bears (25-17, 10-10) was just their third at home since 1998 (Oklahoma State, UC Irvine and Arizona State also completed sweeps).

One week after getting swept at Texas and dropping out of first place into a tie for fourth, OU jumped into second place with the series win.

“We are the same club last weekend as this weekend. We are just a club that played better, played fundamentally sound,” said OU Head Coach Sunny Golloway, who now owns 160 wins at OU with 80 in come-from-behind fashion. “We want our guys to stay hungry That's when we are at our best. We want to have a shot at this regular season race, and we are going to have a shot at it. We just have to keep winning and keep earning our way through it.”

OU trailed 8-3 after the bottom of the fourth, but scored a single run in both the fifth and sixth innings before tallying six runs in the top of the seventh. The Sooners homered three times in the big inning as Aaron Baker tied the game with a two-run blast and Ross Hubbard hit a three-run homer to take the lead.

“One of the things we stressed in the sixth inning, down three runs, is that we don't have to get them all right then,” added Golloway. “We are a team that can score every inning and keep chipping away.”

For the second straight game, Baker and J.T. Wise hit back-to-back home runs in the first inning, marking the fifth time this year that OU has connected for consecutive homers in an inning, all of which have come in Big 12 play. Unfortunately, Baylor duplicated the feat with a pair of solo shots of its own in the bottom of the first.

The Sooners regained the lead in the top half of the second when Ross Hubbard drove in Chris Ellison, who ripped his first career triple down the right-field line, on a sacrifice fly. Ellison finished with a career high four hits and was a home run shy of the cycle.

In the bottom of the second, the Bears knotted the game's score again and after Antwonie Hubbard issued a two-out walk to load the bases, he was relieved by Michael Rocha, who promptly ended the threat with a ground out to second. Rocha did not fare as well in the third inning, giving up a two-run homer to Dan Evatt after walking Shaver Hansen to begin the frame. Rocha was replaced by Jeremy Erben but he too allowed a Baylor home run, a two-run blast, in the fourth and lasted just an 1 2/3.

Chase Anderson (1-1) helped stabilize the game and tossed 4 1/3 innings of highly effective relief. Anderson recorded the victory with five strikeouts and one hit and two walks allowed. Ryan Duke finished off the game with a perfect ninth to record his Big 12 leading 10th save.

“He was terrific,” added Golloway. “We really felt Chase was the best guy to match up with their lineup.”

Down 8-3 in the fifth, the Sooners shaved the lead down to four runs on Baker's RBI groundout. OU chipped another run off the lead with Chris Ellison's RBI single in the sixth.

The OU offense went to work in the seventh inning with six runs off five hits, three of which cleared the fences. Jamie Johnson (11) started the frame with a solo shot and Ross Hubbard hit his first career homer to take the lead. The big inning marked the 18th time OU has hit through order this season and 15th time it have scored five or more runs in a frame. None of the five hits were as big as Hubbard's.

“He swung the bat with a lot of confidence,” said Golloway. “When you lose your left-handed DH (designated hitter) in Cameron Seitzer (broken wrist), Ross has got to step up and this was an opportunity he has been waiting for.”
Hubbard and Baker each drove in four runs while Baker was one of three Sooners to finish the game with two hits (Casey Johnson and Garrett Buechele).

Next up, the Sooners travel to No. 12 Arkansas on Tuesday, April 28 for a midweek non-conference game before turning around and hosting Kansas over the weekend in a three-game Big 12 series.

Next Event

Sponsors

University of Oklahoma Athletics