Oklahoma Tops North Carolina in Dramatic Fashion

The Sooners with their second game in the Norman Regional, the first time OU has opened up tournament play with two wins since 1998.

Thursday, May 26th 2011, 11:47 am

By: News On 6

Oklahoma Tops North Carolina in Dramatic Fashion

Originally Published: Jun 5, 2010 10:50 PM CDT

More Norman Regional baseball coverage from Oklahoma Sports
- Oral Roberts Avoids Elimination with Walk-Off Home Run
- Unlikely Hero Comes up Clutch for Golden Eagles
- Oklahoma Tops North Carolina in Dramatic Fashion

- Golloway's Faith Rewarded in Win over Tar Heels

Gerald Goodridge
Oklahoma Sports Staff Writer

NORMAN, Oklahoma -- Despite Oklahoma closer Ryan Duke blowing his first save of the season to send the game to extras, the Sooners pulled off a 7-6 win in 10 innings to remain undefeated for the tournament.

Oklahoma scored the go-ahead run in the top of the tenth when Eric Ross hit a ground-rule double to center – only his second extra-base hit of the season – to score Ricky Eisenberg and take the lead.

The Sooners got on the board first in the top of the third inning, when Chris Ellison laid down a squeeze to score Eisenberg from third and take a 1-0 lead.

Tyler Ogle paced the OU offense on the day going 2-of-4 with a home run and three RBIs. His home run came in the second at-bat of the fourth, and a two run single in the top of the fifth pushed the OU lead to 4-1.

North Carolina’s first threat came in the bottom of the sixth inning. With two on and two outs,Ryan Graepel singled to bring Jacob Stallings and Mike Cavasinni home and cut the Sooner lead to two runs.

Garrett Buechele hit his 15th home run of the season in the first at-bat of the seventh inning to extend the Oklahoma lead to 5-2.

The Tar Heels cut into the Sooners’ lead once again when Ben Bunting singled to right field to score Brian Goodwin from second and pull within two runs.

After Ellison hit a ground-rule double in the first at bat of the ninth, Buechele stole second and Ellison broke for home on the throw. The second baseman couldn’t connect with the catcher to throw him out and OU extended its lead to 6-3.

North Carolina started the bottom of the ninth inning trailing, but their big hitters kept the game going. With the bases loaded, Levi Michael hit a ball barely inside the left-field line to score two. Two batters later, Goodwin hit his eighth triple of the season – tying a record set in 1949 – to bring Michael home and send the game to extras.

Despite battling an ankle fracture, Oklahoma starter Zach Neal (8-3) kept the Tar Heels normally potent offense in check early on. The junior right-handed pitcher went eight innings for the Sooners, giving up eight hits and three earned runs in his outing and 10 strikeouts for Oklahoma. Neal kept North Carolina scoreless through five and retired seven straight batters between the third and the sixth innings.

Duke (3-1) was credited with a win for his outing, despite the blown save. Greg Holt (3-4) received a loss for the game after giving up the game-winning double in his second inning of service.

North Carolina will take on Oral Roberts at 1 p.m. in an elimination game, and OU will take on the winner at 7 p.m. If the Sooners lose, the regional championship will be decided at 7 p.m. Monday.