The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Oklahoma
No. 1 Baseball posts 11-7 win over Oklahoma to earn series sweep
04.17.2005 | Baseball
AUSTIN, Texas -- Rallying from behind twice by matching a season-high 17 hits, No. 1 Texas (32-6, 9-5 Big 12) collected an 11-7 win over Oklahoma (20-15, 5-7 Big 12) in front of 6,035 fans at Disch-Falk Field on Sunday, April 17. Of note, with the victory, UT not only completed a series sweep of the Sooners, but also extended its current win streak to five games.
Oklahoma jumped in front 1-0 in the top of the first when Chuckie Caufield, who led off with an infield hit, came around to score on a two-out double off the bat of Eric Thornton. In the bottom of the inning, UT managed to load the bases on two walks and a bunt single from Seth Johnston (Boerne, Texas) before a double-play groundout tied the score at 1-1. One inning later, the Horns again threatened by placing runners at second and third with one out after a walk, an infield hit and a sacrifice bunt. An errant throw on a pickoff attempt at third base followed by a RBI-base hit from Robby Hudson (Redlands, Calif.) then staked the Longhorns to a 3-1 advantage. The Sooners answered in the top of the third by putting two runners on of their own with two down before a single from Thornton followed by a walk to load the bases, a wild pitch and an infield RBI-hit from Russell Raley produced a 4-3 OU lead.
After Oklahoma reliever John Brownell worked out of a two-out, bases-loaded jam in the bottom of the third to maintain the lead, Texas put two more runners on with one out in the fourth. Following a pop-up, Chance Wheeless (Round Rock, Texas) then delivered a ground-rule double to tie the game before Clay Van Hook (Brenham, Texas) came through with a two-run base hit to give the Longhorns a 6-4 lead. Quickly countering, the Sooners came up with three consecutive one-out hits to pull back within one and put runners on the corners, but Clayton Stewart (Angleton, Texas), who relieved starter Randy Boone (Yoakum, Texas) in the third, induced a double-play groundout to end the inning and keep the Horns in front.
Johnston's second base hit of the game to open the bottom of the sixth followed by a pair of wild pitches and a one-out safety squeeze bunt from Wheeless then upped UT's lead to 7-5. Still alive in the frame, a bloop double off the bat of Carson Kainer (Tomball, Texas) then made it an 8-5 ballgame. Continuing to battle back, OU received a two-run home run from right fielder Kody Kaiser in the top of the seventh to cut the lead to one. Answering in the bottom of the inning, Drew Stubbs (Atlanta, Texas) connected on his team-leading eighth home run of the year to reclaim a two-run lead for Texas. Then, in the bottom of the eighth, a double by Hudson and a pair of infield hits produced two runs for an 11-7 UT advantage. From there, J. Brent Cox (Bay City, Texas), who worked a 1-2-3 eighth, returned to the mound in the top of the ninth and faced only one batter over the minimum en route to sealing the win and earning his ninth save of the season. Picking up the win for Texas was Stewart, who hurled 3.2 innings on the afternoon, while Brownell shouldered the loss for Oklahoma.
Seven Longhorns tallied multi-hit outings on the day to lead the way for the Texas offense, including Stubbs, who went 3-for-4 with two runs scored and a pair of RBI, Kainer, who registered three hits in four at bats, and Van Hook, who reached base safely four times while collecting two hits, driving in two runs and scoring once. The Sooners' 11-hit attack, meanwhile, was paced by Thornton, who drove in two runs and scored twice during a 3-for-5 afternoon, and Kaiser, who went 2-for-3 with one run scored and two RBI.
Up next, the Longhorns travel to Houston, Texas, to face No. 15 Rice in a 7 p.m. Central game on Wednesday, April 20. Of note, besides being carried by 1300 AM "The Zone" in Austin, the game will also be televised by CSTV.
