Sooners Drop Opener with Bulldogs

May 17, 2012

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Samford	1	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	1	4	6	1
Oklahoma	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	2	9	1

Box Score (PDF)

Pitching	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
W - Martin (11-1)	5.0	6	2	2	1	3
L - John (8-6)	6.0	5	3	2	2	6
S - Vanderheiden (1)	1.0	1	0	0	1	2

Leaders	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	HR
OU - Bushyhead	4	0	2	0	0	0
SU - Durdaller	3	1	1	1	1	1

Game Notes

Thursday marked the first meeting with Samford … Caleb Bushyhead had his 12th double-digit hit performance this season (tied for fourth on the team) … Jack Mayfield extended his hitting streak to six games with a double in the fourth … It marked his third double during the streak and eighth hit overall in that span ...Jordan John had his shortest outing of the season … He lasted at least seven innings in his other eight starts this year … Erik Ross made his 100th career start on Thursday … Thursday's loss marked just the fifth time this year OU dropped the series opener (Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech and Oklahoma State).

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NORMAN, Okla. -- No. 24 Oklahoma fell behind in the first inning during Thursday's series opener with Samford and was never able to overcome the early deficit in a 4-2 loss at L. Dale Mitchell Park.

The Bulldogs entered the game ranked 11th in the nation in home runs and blasted two on Thursday, including a solo shot in the first and another in the ninth to provide some extra insurance.

The Sooners had nine base knocks in the game led by Caleb Bushyhead and Max White with two apiece, but never seemed to get the timely hits.

“We made two mistakes to their lineup and they made us pay for both of them,” said OU Head Coach Sunny Golloway. “We've got to be more consistent. We hit the ball okay. We had some walks and some hit batters. We just didn't string anything together. It came down to clutch hitting and we didn't have any of it.”

OU played from behind all night and the teams exchanged runs in the middle innings. The Sooners tied it up at one in the fourth Jack Mayfield's double with one out. The base knock plated Max White who walked to begin the frame on Samford starter Josh Martin.

Samford quickly regained a one-run advantage in the fifth inning off Jordan John with a pair of singles and a fielder's choice to plate the second run.

In the bottom half of the fifth, OU came back and tied it at two on Cody Reine's sacrifice fly to bring home Garrett Carey after he doubled with one out.

That was it for Martin but he did enough to improve to 11-1 with two runs allowed off six hits and two walks. He became the program's single-season leader in wins after the contest.

An unearned run in the sixth gave the Bulldogs a 3-2 lead after a couple of singles, a throwing error and a passed ball allowed the go-ahead run. John did not come back in the seventh and recorded his shortest start of the season. He surrendered three runs (two earned) off five hits and two walks. He struck out six.

The loss dropped the Sooners to 33-21 overall while Samford recorded its second straight win over a ranked opponent and improved to 35-19.

“It's not the end of the world,” added Golloway. “We have to come out tomorrow and we have to win. We have to win two out of three this weekend. We knew they were a good club and we were fortunate they had a good RPI.”

The series continues on Friday night at 6:30 p.m. at L. Dale Mitchell Park. The game can be heard on the Sooner Sports Network KREF 1400 AM with Toby Rowland and Ross Hubbard on the call.

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