Oklahoma Baseball: Sooners Fall to No. 16 TCU in Series Opener

Oklahoma snatched a quick 3-0 lead, but couldn't hold onto it as the Horned Frogs went for nine runs to open the series with a win.

A tough start to a big weekend series.

Coming off of back-to-back losses to Kansas State on Sunday and Dallas Baptist on Tuesday, Oklahoma was looking for a bounce back performance in the first of a three-game set against No. 16 TCU on Friday night.

But, instead, the losing skid would run to three games as the Horned Frogs took down the Sooners 9-7 at Lupton Stadium in Fort Worth, TX.

Getting the start for Oklahoma was left-hander Jake Bennett, who entered the night fresh off of one of his best outings of the year last week against the Wildcats.

But the Sooners’ ace was unable to recapture that magic against TCU, failing to complete five innings and allowing eight hits and a whopping seven earned runs.

It was OU, however, that got off to a great start in this one striking for three runs in the opening inning.

After Tanner Tredaway took home on a double steal, both Diego Muniz and Jimmy Crooks picked up run-scoring knocks to have Oklahoma in great shape early with a 3-0 lead.

The Horned Frogs would get one of those runs right back in the bottom of the frame, but OU still held a 3-1 edge that they would take into the fifth inning.

But, it was at that point that the TCU bats would get hot. Red hot.

The Frogs went for seven runs in the inning on seven hits to suddenly shift a game that looked like it was in the Sooners’ control to a comfortable 8-3 TCU lead.

Another run in the sixth pushed the Horned Frogs’ advantage to six runs at 9-3 - but the Sooners weren’t going to go down without a fight.

In the seventh, Oklahoma plated a pair of runs with Jackson Nicklaus scoring on a groundout and Kendall Pettis scampering across on a passed ball.

One inning later, Wallace Clark inched the Sooners a touch closer with an opposite-field RBI single to move the score to 9-6.

Oklahoma continued to battle in the ninth, getting the tying run to plate with runners on first and second base with no outs.

But, while they did manufacture another run across, the Sooners couldn't quite get all the way back - falling 9-7. 

The loss is Oklahoma’s third straight and dips them down to 27-17 on the year and 9-7 in Big 12 play.

The Sooners and Horned Frogs will continue their series on Saturday at 2 p.m. back at Lupton Stadium in Fort Worth.