Texas Tech Pummels Oklahoma Again
With one weekend left in the regular season, Oklahoma’s topsy-turvy year on Sunday continued to spiral out of control.
The Sooners were routed again by No. 7-ranked Texas Tech — their third blowout loss to the Red Raiders in their four meetings this season — this time a 13-2 run rule on Senior Day at L. Dale Mitchell Park.
OU (25-25 overall, 9-12 Big 12 Conference) beat the Red Raiders 9-8 in 10 innings in Friday’s opener, but then got pounded 15-2 in Saturday’s game. Back on May 4, the teams met in a midweek non-conference game in Amarillo, TX, and the Red Raiders dominated 14-4.
Tech (33-12, 12-9) hit five more home runs on Sunday, bringing its three-game total to 14 homers hit against the Sooners this weekend.
Pitchers Luke Taggart, Carson Carter and Wyatt Olds all struggled over the first six innings for Oklahoma. Taggart drew the start, lasted just 1 1/3 innings and gave up four runs runs on three hits and two walks. Carter went 1 2/3 innings in relief and gave up seven earned runs on seven hits and a walk. And Olds got in 2 1/3 innings before the Red Raiders chased him in the sixth after two runs on two hits and two walks.
Texas Tech’s first 11 runs all came off home runs. Braxton Fulford starts the hit parade with a two-run bomb in the second inning, and Jace Jung followed with a three run shot. Cole Stillwell then added a solo shot to give the Red Raiders their third six-run inning of the series.
In the fourth, Easton Murrell hit a two-run smash, and Cal Conley followed that with a three-run bomb to make it 11-1.
First baseman Tyler Hardman had a big day at the plate for the Sooners with three doubles, an infield single and a 4-for-4 performance that raised his season batting average to .399. Hardman leads Division I with 81 hits this season.
OU’s first run came courtesy of Jace Bohrofen’s RBI single to bring home Hardman in the third inning.
In the sixth, Tech’s Cody Masters hit a one-out triple off Olds and scored on a wild pitch, and Dru Carter smacked an RBI double to score Fulford for a 13-1 lead.
With Hardman on first base in the seventh inning and hoping to stave off the run rule, Bohrofen ripped a two-out double down the right field line to keep the game going. Conor McKenna then walked to load the bases for Brandon Zaragoza, who was hit by pitch to make it 13-2. But Justin Mitchell's foul-out ended it.
OU currently sits sixth in the Big 12 standings going into next week’s season finale at fifth-place Baylor, while Texas Tech sits third. If those positions hold, OU would face Tech again in the first round of the Big 12 Tournament on Wednesday, May 26.