OU Baseball: Oklahoma Leads Early But Fades Late in Crucial Loss to Texas

Gambill’s early outburst pushed OU in front.

In the first inning, the junior left fielder from Utah was hit by a pitch from Texas left hander Kade Bing. After two flyouts, Gambill took third on Jaxon Willits’ single up the middle, then came home on a Bing wild pitch.

Texas tied it at 1-1 in the top of the third off Witherspoon when Tommy Farmer beat out a one-out infield single, moved to third on a single by Ethan Mendoza and scored on an error by OU first baseman Mason Hamlin at the end of a rundown.

Gambill put the Sooners up 2-1 in the bottom of the third — and needed just one pitch to do it. Bing’s first offering to Gambill ended up on the berm over the right field wall. It was Gambill's fourth home run of the season, but his first in Norman.

The Sooners built their lead to 3-1 in the fifth.

Dawson Willis reached on a fielder’s choice, then stole second. Willis took third on Gambill’s groundout to second, and scored easily on Carmichael’s double to right center.

But Texas kept after Witherspoon, and finally broke through with a pair of runs in the seventh.

Adrian Rodriguez opened the inning with a double to right field, then moved to third on a high throw that was ruled a passed ball. Witherspoon walked Casey Borba — his final hitter of the night.

Jamie Hitt relieved Witherspoon and immediately walked Will Gasparino. OU coach Skip Johnson then opted for Jason Bodin, who was greeted by a two-run single to left from Farmer, tying the game at 3-3.

Texas took its first lead in the eighth with another run off Bodin.

Rylan Galvan led off with a single, took second on a wild pitch, and then, after a popup, watched Bodin walk Rodriguez. That brought up Kimble Schuessler with runners at first and second and one out, and Schuessler reached out to slap an opposite-field single to right that brought Galvan home from second and gave the Longhorns their first lead.

OU tied it off reliever Volantis in the bottom of the eighth.

Carmichael drew a one-out walk, and Sam Christiansen was hit by pitch. Willits delivered a single to left that scored Carmichael to knot it up at 4-4. 

Willits was out at second on Jason Walk’s fielder’s choice, but Christiansen was safe at third. Scott Mudler, however, flied out to end the rally.

Johnson called in closer Dylan Crooks, but that strategy quickly imploded.

Farmer opened with a double, and Mendoza reached on a throwing error by Kyle Branch from deep behind the bag at second base.

Right fielder Max Belyeu, who has missed several weeks with a thumb injury, then took Crooks’ next pitch over the wall in straightaway center field, a massive, three-run blast deep into the Norman night that sent the Longhorns into a frenzied celebration behind home plate.

The Red River Rivalry continues Friday night at 6:30, while Saturday’s regular-season finale starts at 2 p.m.

Oklahoma entered the series with eight ranked wins, including a pair of top-10 non-conference victories, and five SEC series wins on its resume. 

The Sooners are 5-4 in SEC series in their inaugural season in the league, with three of their four series losses coming to top-15 opponents and three series losses on the road. 

This weekend’s matchup is the sixth ranked opponent OU has faced out of 10 SEC series.

The Sooners went into the weekend at No. 26 in the NCAA RPI and are widely projected as a 2-seed for the NCAA Tournament, but that could change pending this week’s outcome and next week’s performance in the SEC Tournament.