Andrew Oliver (NY Times Photo)
There were seven conference games on Sunday in the Big 12, with both the Missouri/Oklahoma State and Nebraska/Oklahoma series having doubleheaders due to recent bad weather in the Oklahoma area. The other three series wrapped up their three game sets as scheduled.
#9 Texas 8, Texas Tech 1
AUSTIN, Texas — The No. 9 Texas Longhorns scored runs in each of the first five innings and had four pitchers combine to allow just one run in an 8-1 win over the Texas Tech Red Raiders at UFCU Disch-Falk Field on Sunday afternoon.
Texas (17-7, 4-5 Big 12) pounced early with two runs apiece in each of the first three innings to take a 6-1 lead.
In the first inning, Michael Torres hit a one-out single up the middle, stole second base and scored on a single by Brandon Belt through the right side of the infield. Cameron Rupp drew a walk and Russell Moldenhauer singled to leftfield to plate Belt and stake the Horns to a 2-0 lead.
Tant Shepherd started the uprising in the second inning with a walk. Tech’s pitcher Nathan Karns made a poor fielder’s choice on a ground ball by Kyle Lusson and was late on the throw to second to retire Shepherd. Brandon Loy sacrificed the runners to second and third with a bunt. Travis Tucker plated Shepherd with a single to centerfield and Torres hit a sacrifice fly to drive in Lusson and balloon the lead to 4-0.
#10 Oklahoma 12, Nebraska 9
NORMAN, Okla. — The No. 10 Sooners took a 1-0 lead in a Big 12 Conference series on Sunday against visiting Nebraska. OU built an early 6-1 lead and held off a late Husker rally in a 12-9 victory. The series was delayed two days after inclement weather hit the Norman area on Friday.
Ryan Duke recorded the final five outs of the game, three via a strikeout, for his fifth save of the season. The Sooners’ closer entered the game with one out, a runner on first base, and a 9-7 lead. Nebraska plated two runs in the eighth before Duke entered game and scored two more in the ninth.
Despite scoring six runs in the final three frames, Nebraska (15-9-1, 3-4) came up short as OU improved to 22-5 and 3-1 in Big 12 play. The Sooners scored some late runs of their own with three in the bottom of the eighth. Aaron Baker doubled in two of those runs and helped put the game out of reach.
OU Game 1 Recap
Nebraska Game 1 Recap
Nebraska 11, #10 Oklahoma 9
Norman, Okla. – Nebraska used a career day from Tyler Farst to take the nightcap of Sunday’s doubleheader with an 11-9 victory over No. 11 Oklahoma Sunday evening.
Farst paced Nebraska’s season-high 18-hit attack with his first career four-hit day, going 4-for-5 with three RBIs, as the Huskers snapped Oklahoma’s 16-game home win streak dating back to last May.
Cody Asche homered and drove in a career high four runs, while Nick Sullivan had two hits and a pair of RBIs for the Huskers (16-9-1, 4-4 Big 12), who jumped out to a 10-5 lead only to see Oklahoma pull within two runs and load the bases in the ninth.
#11 Baylor 7, Kansas State 6
WACO, Texas — Brooks Pinckard stranded the potential tying run at first base in the eighth and ninth innings as eighth-ranked Baylor held off Kansas State 7-6 in Sunday’s Big 12 Conference series finale at Baylor Ballpark. Baylor (17-6, 5-4) clinched the series with the win. The Bears moved to 10-1 this season in one-run games with their ninth straight victory in one-run games.
Kansas State (21-7, 2-4) took an early lead on Justin Bloxom’s first-inning, two-run double. That lead was short-lived, though, as the Bears scored four runs on just two hits in the bottom of the inning. Shaver Hansen tied the game with a two-run homer just inside the foul pole down the right-field line. After Aaron Miller and Dan Evatt walked, Adam Hornung delivered a two-run double to right-center. The Bears never trailed again.
Baylor Recap
Kansas State Recap
#13 Texas A&M 6, Kansas 5
COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Barret Loux struck out a career-high 11 batters and Nick Fleece picked up his second save of the weekend as No. 11 Texas A&M held off a late Kansas rally to win, 6-5, and earn a series sweep on a sunny Sunday afternoon before 3,380 fans at Olsen Field.
The Aggies (18-9, 6-3 Big 12) matched their longest win streak of the year with their fifth victory in a row, while Kansas fell to 15-10 and 3-3.
Joe Patterson put the Aggies on the board in the second, as the junior hit his third home run of the year–a two-run, opposite-field shot to left–that gave A&M an early 2-0 lead.
The Aggies would extend the lead to 6-0 with a four-run fourth, getting two big hits and taking advantage of a couple of free passes and Jayhawk miscues along the way.
Caleb Shofner led off the frame with a walk and moved to third on a base hit by Luke Anders. A passed ball would then move both runners up and bring home A&M’s first run of the inning. After Joe Patterson was hit by a pitch and Kevin Gonzalez bunted both runners into scoring position, Brodie Greene sent a fly ball to left field that was dropped by Casey Lytle. Anders scored easily on the sacrifice fly and Greene moved to second on the miscue.
#18 Oklahoma State 13, Missouri 1; #18 Oklahoma State 6, Missouri 2
STILLWATER, Okla. — Oklahoma State earned its first Big 12 Conference series win of the season Sunday by emerging victorious in both games of a doubleheader against Missouri at Allie P. Reynolds Stadium.
The 17th-ranked Cowboys collected a 13-1 run-rule win in seven innings in the opener before knocking off the Tigers, 6-2, in the nightcap. With the victories, OSU improved to 19-7 overall and 3-2 in Big 12 play and tied its longest winning streak of the season with its fifth-straight win.
The opener pitted two of the nation’s top pitchers against each other, and it would be OSU’s Andrew Oliver getting the best of Mizzou ace Kyle Gibson (4-2).
In five starts this season prior to Sunday, Gibson had allowed just six runs, but the Cowboys tagged the right hander for seven runs on seven hits and knocked him out of the game after just two innings of work.
OSU got things going in its first at bat. With one out, Tyrone Hambly was hit by a pitch, and Neil Medchill followed with a single. That brought up Dean Green, who blasted a Gibson offering over the wall in right field to give the Cowboys a 3-0 lead. The home run was Green’s third of the season.
Special thanks to Colin Weber for helping out with the article.
