Saturday College Baseball Roundup

Oklahoma State and Oral Roberts clinched road series wins, while Oklahoma lost its second straight game to Texas. 

Saturday, April 12th 2014, 9:34 pm

By: News 9


Oklahoma Suffers 7-2 Setback to Texas

NORMAN, Okla. – The No. 26 University of Oklahoma baseball team dropped its third straight game with a 7-2 loss to No. 7 Texas in front of 4,201 fans at L. Dale Mitchell Park, Saturday afternoon. The attendance was the second highest mark in program history. The Sooners fell to 23-13 overall and evened out at 4-4 in the Big 12, while the Longhorns lifted their record to 28-8 and 8-3.

"We had our opportunities early, with bases loaded and no outs," coach Pete Hughes said. "Texas did damage control with only one run and that was huge. The next thing they get second and third, that was the pivotal part of the game, I thought, and the fact that Texas played better offensively with more runners in scoring positions than we did today, that's the whole reason behind the game."

Texas pulled away from a 1-1 game with four runs in the fourth and two more in the fifth. The Longhorns began a one-out rally in the fourth with a walk followed by five consecutive singles. With the bases loaded, designated hitter Madison Carter brought in the go-ahead run with a single through the left side and Texas never looked back. First baseman Kacy Clemens had the big hit in the inning, a two-run single through the right side that pushed the lead to 4-1.

Left-hander Dillon Peters (5-2) pitched seven-strong innings for the Longhorns. He scattered seven hits and three walks, which yielded two runs. For Oklahoma, redshirt-sophomore lefty Adam Choplick went just 3.2 innings as he was hit for five runs on seven hits and two walks. Choplick struck out a pair as he dropped to 3-2.

"In college baseball you really have to keep people off balance, you have to miss that metal bat," continued Hughes. "I know these bats are weaker, but you do have to miss that thing. The only way to do that, you have to throw something softer at second pitch for a strike. We had trouble all day, especially Chop, staying out of fastball counts. When they hit line drives all day, it doesn't matter. The ball was in play and they found the right spots, and when the ball is in play good things happen."

Trailing 1-0, the Sooners had a chance for a big inning in the bottom of the second. A walk and two singles loaded the bases with no outs, but the only run OU could push across came on a ground ball double play hit into by sophomore first baseman Kolbey Carpenter.

Oklahoma had a chance to take the lead in the third when senior catcher Dylan Neal worked a 10-pitch plate appearance into a lead-off walk and sophomore center fielder Craig Aikin dropped a bunt to the third base side of the mound for a single that put two runners on with no outs. Junior second baseman Joshua Ake sacrificed to put both in scoring position, but that was as far as they would advance.

In the eighth, Ake hit a lead-off double to left-center and scored on the next play as freshman third baseman Sheldon Neuse lined a double to the base of the wall in center. The back-to-back doubles were the only extra-base hits of the game.

The series finale will be played Sunday afternoon at 2:30 p.m. Sophomore left-hander Jacob Evans gets the nod for the Sooners, replacing regular Sunday starter right-hander Jake Elliott, who has been sidelined as a precautionary measure.

 

Cowboys Rout West Virginia To Take Series

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Oklahoma State secured its third-straight Big 12 Conference series win Saturday as the 18th-ranked Cowboys defeated West Virginia, 9-2, at Hawley Field.

With its 15th come-from-behind win, OSU improved to 25-10 overall and 7-4 in Big 12 play. The Cowboys will play for a series sweep Sunday beginning at noon (CST).

Saturday's series clincher saw freshman Blake Battenfield record his first-career win with 4 1/3 innings in relief, while Tanner Krietemeier led an offense that collected 13 hits with a 5-for-6 day at the plate. Krietemeier's five hits were the most by a Cowboy since Robbie Rea had five against Alabama A&M in 2012.

"We had good pitching, very good defense and the will to compete for nine innings on the road," said OSU coach Josh Holliday. "I'm really proud of the type of baseball we've put together in back-to-back days on the road. It's definitely a step in the right direction."

WVU (16-14, 2-5) took the game's initial lead off OSU starter Tyler Buffett with a two-out rally in the third as three-straight singles, the final one an RBI by Billy Fleming, put the Mountaineers up, 1-0.

That score remained until the seventh as WVU starter Sean Carley, who entered the game with a 5-1 mark, blanked the Cowboys over the first six frames. During that span, OSU had its chances, collecting seven hits but leaving nine runners stranded.

However, that changed in the seventh, as the Cowboys finally got to the tiring right-hander.

Saulyer Saxon got things started with a leadoff walk, and two batters later, Krietemeier singled. After a fly out, Krietemeier stole second, and Gage Green was intentionally walked to load the bases with two outs.

The Cowboys then sent Garrett Williams to pinch hit, and the freshman drew a five-pitch walk to bring home the tying run.

"If you want to win ball games against good starting pitchers, you have to outlast them," Holliday said. "(Carley) was a very accomplished pitcher to this point in the season, and they rode him for 127 pitches. For our kids to hang in there and compete as well as they did, they essentially, in my eyes, earned what happened. We took (WVU's) best weapon and outlasted him until he fatigued and when he did, we were very opportunistic with what followed."

The Cowboys certainly were. In the eighth, they rallied for four runs on a pair of hits off WVU closer Corey Walter. Saxon plated the go-ahead run with an RBI single to make it 2-1, and OSU added two more runs on an error before a sacrifice fly by Conor Costello put the Pokes up by a 5-1 count.

In the ninth, OSU added plenty of insurance, with the big blow coming on a bases-loaded double by Donnie Walton that brought home three runs.

Battenfield finished off the Mountaineers to improve to 1-0 on the year, with his 4 1/3 innings marking the longest outing of his career. After coming on in the fifth with the bases loaded and two outs and getting out of the jam, he pitched out of trouble in the sixth and seventh innings and allowed just one run in the ninth with the game all but decided.

"To get a pair of freshmen in Buffett and Battenfield to walk out there today and give us nine very good innings against a very capable and strong, veteran offense was a huge step in the right direction," Holliday said.

 

Glanz, Romano silence SFA to clinch series, 7-1

NACOGDOCHES, Texas – The Oral Roberts University baseball team extended its winning streak to four games on Saturday as the Golden Eagles clinched their first Southland Conference series victory with a 7-1 win over Stephen F. Austin.

ORU moved to 18-16 overall on the season and improved to 6-8 in the Southland. SFA matched ORU's conference record with the loss and fell to 15-19 overall.

The top of the Golden Eagle lineup picked up seven of the team's 12 total hits, with Tyler Boss leading the way with a 3-for-5 afternoon at the plate, driving in a run and scoring twice. Logan Domenico had two hits, including the team's lone extra base hit, while Matt Brandy and Jose Trevino added a pair of singles.

Gavin Glanz (2-3) had another quality start on the mound as he went 7.2 innings, allowing just five hits and one earned run. Jordan Romano entered in the bottom of the eighth and sat down the final four SFA batters, three on strikes, for his eighth save of the season.

Five different Lumberjack batters had a hit in the game with Brett Thornell's hit coming on a double. Dillon Mangham (5-3) went six innings to start the game and took the loss.

For the fourth time in the series, the Golden Eagles plated three or more runs in an inning, taking an early 3-0 lead after the top of the first. With the bases loaded, Audie Afenir reached on a bobbled grounder at short, allowing Brandy to score. Graham McIntyre stepped in a hit a shot back up the middle, scoring Trevino and Boss on the single.

In the top of the fifth, Trevino came home to score as Sequeira bounced out to short. Afenir followed Sequeira and singled back up the middle to plate Boss and make it a 5-0 lead.

Following back to back walks by Glanz in the bottom of the seventh, Ricardo Sanchaz singled to center to drive in Conner Fikes to cut the Golden Eagle lead to 5-1.

The Jacks threatened to tack on another runner in the bottom of the eighth, with runners in scoring position and two outs, but Romano entered the game and struck out the final batter of the inning.

In the ORU half of the ninth, Domenico doubled and scored after two straight wild pitches to extend the lead to 6-1. Following back to back walks to Brandy and Trevino, Boss stepped in and singled to center, bringing home Dean Wilson, who came in to pinch run for Brandy, making it a 7-1 game.

The Golden Eagles go for the sweep of the Lumberjacks on Sunday morning. Originally scheduled to begin at 1 p.m., the start time of the third game was moved to 11 a.m. to beat potential inclement weather in East Central Texas.

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