Texas Bats Come Alive To Claim Series Over Big 12-Leading Oklahoma

Any time the Texas Longhorns and Oklahoma Sooners face off, one can easily feel the intensity of the Red River Rivalry and this weekend was no different both on and off the field. In a series that ultimately gave way to the notoriously volatile Oklahoma weather, The Longhorns ended up taking the series in explosive fashion, and here is what all went down at Dale Mitchell Park.

Game 1 (Friday): Sooners 9 Longhorns 4

The Sooners made the Longhorns pay for their mistakes early on and stayed in control en route to a 9-4 win to open the series on Friday.

Texas committed five errors early on which then led to Oklahoma’s first four runs of the game. The Sooners scored three in the second with runs scoring on a single by Kendall Pettis, an error by the Longhorns’ Jared Thomas that allowed Scott Mudler to reach base, and a groundout by John Spikerman. Pettis would then make it a 4-0 ballgame in the third with an RBI single of his own.

The Longhorns would get on the board in the fifth with a single by Jalin Flores that drove in Thomas to cut the deficit to 5-1, with the Sooners then getting that run back in the sixth on a solo homer by Jaxon Willits. Peyton Powell would then make it a 5-2 ballgame in the seventh with an RBI single that brought in Dee Kennedy.

While the Longhorn defense improved as the game went on following the errors, it still would not be enough to stop the Sooner scoring as Oklahoma scored three in the bottom of the seventh with a Anthony Mackenzie solo shot to right, a single by Willits, and Spikerman reaching on a fielders choice bringing in a run each.

Texas would then respond in the top of the eighth with Thomas’ 13th home run of the season, a two-run shot, to bring it back to a four-run game. The Sooners would then add an insurance run in the bottom half after a double steal would bring in Mackenzie to give Oklahoma the 9-4 lead, which became the final after the Longhorns failed to respond in the ninth.

In the hit column, the Longhorns outhit the Sooners 12-10 with Flores and Thomas having three hits apiece for Texas. Pettis, Willits, Mackenzie, and Easton Carmichael each had two hits to lead the Oklahoma lineup.

Braden Davis started for the Sooners and earned the win after throwing six innings and struck out nine batters. Max Grubbs was the tough luck loser for the Longhorns as four of the five runs he gave up were unearned in five innings pitched.

Game 2 (Sunday G1): Longhorns 8 Sooners 6

The threat of inclement weather in central Oklahoma led to the postponement of Saturday’s game and a doubleheader on Sunday, with the Longhorns winning the first game of the twin bill 8-6 in come-from-behind fashion.

Texas drew first blood in the top of the first on a double by Flores that brought in Thomas, with the Sooners putting up two runs of their own in the bottom half an an RBI double by Easton Carmichael, where he later stole home on a double steal to give Oklahoma the 2-1 lead.

Both teams would then score again in the third, with the Longhorns scoring three runs by way of a wild pitch that brought in Thomas and a two-run single by Casey Borba. The Sooners would then tie things up at four after a double by Mackenzie drove in two runs.

Not only did Mackenzie drive in the tying runs but also gave Oklahoma the 5-4 lead as well after he logged a single in the fifth that drove in Michael Snyder. The Sooner lead would be short-lived, however, as the Longhorns would go on and take lead in the sixth after a pair of solo homers by Kimble Schuessler and Will Gasparino. Dee Kennedy also scored in the sixth after Peyton Powell drew a bases loaded walk to give Texas a 7-5 lead.

Flores again doubled in the eighth that scored Gasparino and added another insurance run for the Longhorns. Oklahoma would then stage one last rally in the ninth as Carmichael cut the deficit with an RBI single, but it wouldn’t be enough as Texas held on to win 8-6.

Texas had seven hits on the day with Flores being the sole Longhorn with multiple hits. Snyder, Mackenzie, and Carmichael had two hits apiece for the Sooners.

Ace Whitehead got the start for Texas but Chase Lummus got the win in relief, with Gage Boehm recording the save for the Longhorns. Kyson Witherspoon started for Oklahoma, where he went 5.1 innings in a losing effort.

Game 3 (Sunday G2): Longhorns 12 Sooners 10 (7)

For the second time in less than a week, the Longhorns tied a program record with six home runs hit in a weather-shortened second game of the doubleheader to take the series with a 12-10 victory.

Texas hit five two-run homers during the game, including one each in the first three innings. Powell hit his in the first, followed by Gasparino in the second and Borba in the third.

While the Sooners put up a run themselves in the bottom of the first on a double by Carmichael, it wasn’t until the third when they put up a major response of their own, as they put up a four spot to get to within one run. Jackson Nicklaus tripled in Mackenzie and then later scored on a single by Pettis. Jaxon Willits would then hit a two-run homer to finish the scoring for Oklahoma in the third.

The fifth, sixth, and seventh innings would also have both teams scoring in hopes of an exciting finish. In the fifth, Belyeu hit a two-run shot of his own for the Longhorns while the Sooners responded with a two-run shot of their own by Nicklaus. A two-run homer by Galvan and an RBI double by Flores highlighted the Texas sixth while Mackenzie drove in Carmichael on a single to cut the Sooner deficit to 11-8. Belyeu would then hit his second homer of the game, a solo shot, to return the Longhorn lead to four.

In the bottom of the seventh, the Sooners would again stop the bleeding by putting up a pair of runs on a sac fly by Jason Walk that brought in Pettis and a single by Spikerman that scored Willits. However, any hopes for an exciting photo finish ended up disappearing after a lightning delay that began during the top of the eighth, which never ended as the game got called 90 minutes later after the delay began, giving Texas the 12-10 win and a crucial series victory over their red river rivals.

Both teams had 14 hits with Belyeu leading the way for the Longhorns with four and both Powell and Schuessler having two apiece. Willits paced Oklahoma with three hits while Carmichael, Nicklaus, Pettis, and Spikerman each had two on the evening.

Lebarron Johnson Jr started for Texas while Cade O’Hara got the win. Andre Duplantier II got the save for the Longhorns after stopping the Sooner rally in the seventh. Grant Stevens started for Oklahoma and took the loss.

The series win improves the Longhorns’ record to 27-18 and 13-8 in Big 12 play while the Sooners drop to 26-16 but maintain their lead in the Big 12 standings with a 15-6 record in conference play.

What’s Next?

Texas returns to UFCU Disch-Falk Field on Tuesday night as they host their final midweek of the season against the Sam Houston State Bearkats hosting Oklahoma State in a pivotal Big 12 series. Oklahoma begins a road stand where play at Oral Roberts on Tuesday before heading to Lubbock where they will face the Texas Tech Red Raiders next weekend.

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