OU Baseball: Oklahoma Drops Midweek Game to Oral Roberts

Oklahoma was just 1-for-9 (.111) at the plate with two out, just 2-for-14 (.143) with runners on base, and just 1-for-7 (.143) with runners in scoring position.

Michael Catalano (2-1) took the loss for OU as the third of five Sooner pitchers as he gave up a run on three hits and a walk while striking out four over two innings.

Left hander Weston Rouse (2-1) got the win for ORU while Conner Floyd pitched a scoreless ninth for his seventh save.

OU got on the board first as Trey Gambill opened the game with a leadoff double and moved up on Jaxon Willits’ groundout. After a walk to Easton Carmichael, Sam Christiansen rolled a ground ball to first to bring Gambill home for a 1-0 lead.

ORU struck for two runs in the top of the second, however, as OU starter Gavyn Jones yielded a single to Jack Schark and a double to Makani Tanaka, followed by an RBI groundout to first from Keaton Campbell and an RBI single by Matthew Brandt to give the Golden Eagles a 2-1 lead.

In the fourth, ORU took a 3-1 lead when Schark opened with another single and Tanaka walked. After a double play ground ball moved Schark to third, Ethan Fender plated him with a single to left.

The Sooners tied it in the bottom of the fourth as Drew Dickerson drew a one-out walk and Kyle Branch singled to right field. Scott Mudler was hit by pitch to load the bases, and Dawson Willis’ single up the middle scored Dickerson and Branch to make it 3-3. 

OU loaded the bases again when Gambill walked, but Willits and Carmichael could not convert.

The Golden Eagles made Oklahoma pay in the fifth when Martell Davis opened with a double down the left field line and came home on Cooper Combs’ single to center to put ORU up 4-3.

ORU added an insurance run in the ninth as Will Edmunson singled to left and moved to second on a groundout. Edmunson then came home on Wailele Kane-Yate’s single to left for a 5-4 lead.

OU had a chance in the ninth as Willis drew a full-count walk with one out. But Gambill flied out to left and Willits flied out to center to end it.

The Sooners return to action this week when they hit the road to face Georgia in a three-game SEC series in Athens. Thursday’s opening pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m.