Sooners Get Important Win over Arkansas

Originally Published: May 18, 2010 10:58 PM CDT

Corey DeMoss
Oklahoma Sports Staff Writer

NORMAN, Oklahoma – The OU baseball team used strong pitching and a fast start to earn an important 5-2 win over the No. 14 Arkansas Razorbacks Tuesday.

The Razorbacks (38-15) seemed primed for a big start after getting runners on second and third with one out in the top of the first. But OU starter Michael Rocha responded by striking out two consecutive batters with nasty curveballs to get out of the jam. That was the last time Arkansas came close to holding the lead.

The Sooners (38-14) scored the game’s first run in the bottom of the first, when Caleb Bushyhead launched a solo home run over the left field wall. Chris Ellison connected on an RBI single in the second, and Cody Reine added an RBI of his own in the third to stretch the lead to 3-0.

Arkansas got on the board in the fourth with an RBI double by Andy Wilkins, but Rocha retired the next three batters to avoid a big inning. He only surrendered three hits for the rest of his stint on the mound.

OU added two insurance runs in the fifth thanks to RBIs by Tyler Ogle and Danny Black, and pitching carried the Sooners for the rest of the night. Rocha left in the eighth, and Ryan Duke took over in the ninth. Duke gave up an RBI single to Collin Kuhn, but struck out Matt Reynolds to finish the game.

Rocha (6-1) came away with the win, giving up one run on just six hits and two walks in 7.1 innings. Randall Fant was credited with a loss after being pulled very early in the game. He pitched only 1.2 innings and surrendered the game’s first two runs on two hits.

The Sooners’ victory over a ranked team will improve their chances of hosting a regional series and should boost them into the top 15 teams in the nation. They will move on to face Texas Southern at 7 p.m. Wednesday, and will finish their regular season with a three-game series against Kansas starting Friday.