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Baseball
vs Texas A&M
University of Oklahoma Athletics
Friday, April 30
NORMAN
6:30 PM
University of Oklahoma
14
vs
3
Kansas State
OU Posts Balanced Victory over No. 20 KSU
April 30, 2010 | Baseball
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NORMAN, Okla. -- No. 15 Oklahoma received timely hitting from the offense and another strong start from Zach Neal as it opened the series with No. 20 Kansas State on Friday with a 14-3 victory at L. Dale Mitchell Park.
The Sooners improved to 31-11 overall and 9-8 in Big 12 play and dropped No. 20 Kansas State, which sat two spots ahead of them in second place entering Friday's contest, to 29-12 and 9-6.
Garrett Buechele posted career highs for hits (5) and RBIs (5) as the OU offense continued its recent torrid pace against the opposition. OU has scored in double digits in the last three games and combined for 38 runs during that stretch of the current four-game winning streak. Buechele, who extended his hitting streak to 14 games, knocked in two of the OU's six two-out RBIs on Friday.
"Buechele is just a mature hitter. He understands the game, he attacks the game," said OU Head Coach Sunny Golloway. "He doesn't get too high or too low. He has to help bring some of our other guys along as well."
While Buechele helped lead the offense, which connected for 18 hits on the night, Neal lasted six innings to improve to 6-1 with two strikeouts and one walk. Neal has lasted at least six innings in each of his last four starts.
"I think our guys play with confidence (behind Neal)," said OU Head Coach Sunny Golloway. "Even after we give up one run early. Our guys came in the dugout, they are very calm and quiet just like they know what they have to do, and they are going to do it."
Neal surrendered one of his two runs in the first, but the OU offense immediately countered in the bottom of the frame with four hits. Buechele's triple in the first started things off as Max White delivered a RBI double and was followed by a RBI groundout by Caleb Bushyhead and a run-scoring double by Ross Hubbard.
"In recent weeks, we've been down early and the fact that we were able to jump out 2-1 in the first, even after giving up the one run was big for our team, said Buechele."
KSU starter Ryan Daniel (5-3) was pulled after one inning of work with four runs allowed off three hits and a walk. He was the first of seven Wildcat hurlers used on the night. Thomas Rooke was the first reliever out of the pen and he immediately gave up two runs in the second, both unearned.
With a 6-1 lead after four frames, OU batted through the order for the 17th time this season and plated four more runs to extend the lead to nine runs. The double-digit scoring mark was eclipsed for the 26th time this season and that offensive plateau has produced a 24-2 record for the Sooners.
Scoring 10 or more runs is nothing new for OU in the KSU series. While Friday's win snapped a five-game losing streak for the Sooners in series openers with the Wildcats, it also marked the 23rd time in the 40 Big 12 meetings that OU has eclipsed the double-digit run total. Included in those high-scoring games is the last three contests in the series where OU has combiend for 55 runs.
Despite the impressive series-opening win, OU still realizes the importance of staying focused for the next game. The last time OU opened a Big 12 series with a win this season was a 12-1 victory at Texas Tech. The Red Raiders rallied to win games two and three and currently sit ahead of the Sooners in the Big 12 standings at 10-9.
"I still think we are going to be in a dog fight the rest of the weekend and our players need to understand that," added Golloway.
Game two on Saturday gets underway at 5 p.m. at L. Dale Mitchell Park and the game can be heard live on the Sooner Sports Network (KREF 1400 AM) and simulcast on Cox Ch. 3 in Oklahoma City and Tulsa.
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