Baseball opens series vs. No. 16 Oklahoma with 5-3 victory

Friday, April 7

Austin, Texas

7 p.m.

University of Texas

21-12, 5-5

Oklahoma

26-7, 4-3

Oklahoma

Texas

Baseball opens series vs. No. 16 Oklahoma with 5-3 victory

04.07.2017 | Baseball

Box Score

The Longhorns got out to an early 4-0 lead and held on for the win.

Box Score | Quotes

AUSTIN, Texas—Texas Baseball rode an early lead to a 5-3 win over No. 16 Oklahoma on Friday night at UFCU Disch-Falk Field. The win moves the Longhorns to 21-12 overall and 5-5 in the Big 12, while the Sooners fall to 26-7 and 4-3 in conference play.

In the home half of the first inning, the Longhorns took advantage of a Sooner miscue to get on the board. With one away, Tate Shaw singled up the middle and one batter later, Travis Jones was hit with a pitch. Kacy Clemens then followed with a fielder's choice that OU pitcher Dylan Grove threw away. Shaw found himself caught off third and found his way to home plate to give the Longhorns a 1-0 lead.

Clemens then stole his first of two bags on the night and Bret Boswell lifted a sacrifice fly to right to put Texas up 2-0 on Oklahoma.

Texas starter Nolan Kingham notched three shutout innings before Texas got on the board again in the bottom of the third.

Jones walked to lead off the inning and Clemens reached on a fielding error to put two aboard. With one out in the inning, Michael Cantu added a sac fly of his own to expand the Texas lead to 3-0. One batter later, freshman Austin Todd singled to right-center to plate Clemens and give the Longhorns a 4-0 lead after three.

In the fourth, the Sooners scratched one across off Kingham to pull within three, but Texas got that run back in the seventh thanks to a nice slide from Cantu on a Hamilton sacrifice fly.

Kingham headed back out for the eighth, but after a solo homer and base hit, he was lifted in favor of Longhorns closer Beau Ridgeway.

Ridgeway managed to induce a beautiful 6-4-3 double play before Boswell made a diving stop for the third out of the inning, preserving Texas' 5-2 lead.

Oklahoma tacked on another run in the ninth thanks to a solo home run, but Ridgeway would shut the door for his sixth save of the season in his team-high 19th appearance.

The Longhorns and Sooners return to UFCU Disch-Falk Field for game two of the Red River Showdown tomorrow at 4 p.m.