Oklahoma Cruises Past Kansas in Series Opener

Originally Published: May 21, 2010 11:56 PM CDT

Andrew Topps
Oklahoma Sports Staff Writer

LAWRENCE, Kansas -- No. 15 Oklahoma defeated Kansas 14-4 Friday. The win snapped a four-game losing streak in Lawrence for Oklahoma (40-14, 13-10) and dropped Kansas to 31-22-1 and 11-13-1.

The Sooners trailed 3-1 in the sixth inning before exploding for four runs. Cameron Seitzer drove in a run on a sacrifice fly, Cody Reine hit an RBI double and and Justin Black capped the inning with a two-run double to give the Sooners the lead for good.

Kansas inched closer with a run in the seventh, but the Sooners responded with a sacrifice squeeze from Chris Ellison and a two-run homer from Max White in the eighth to put the game away. OU continued its hit parade with a sixth-run ninth inning.

Zach Neal (8-2) earned the win, while striking out six batters and giving up four runs in 6.1 innings.

T.J. Walz (8-5) lasted 5.2 innings and surrendered five runs of 10 hits in the loss.

The Jayhawks struck first on Waters' RBI single in the first inning but OU rallied for another comeback victory, its 20th of the year.

Garrett Buechele helped jump start the rally and produced his 26th multiple hit game of the season with a one-out double down the left-field line in the fourth. He later scored on Cameron Seitzer's 47th RBI of the season on a base hit up the middle.

Tied at one apiece, Kansas regained the lead in the bottom half of the frame after Chris Manship plated the go-ahead run on a single to right. Waters struck again in the bottom of the fifth and gave the Jayhawks a 3-1 lead on his team-leading ninth homer of the year.

Black, Buechele and White all had three hits apiece as Oklahoma posted its second-highest hit (17) and run total during the Big 12 slate. Black, White and Ellison finished with a game-high three RBIs.

Game two is slated for a 6 p.m. first pitch Saturday.