Texas Completes Three-Game Sweep of OU

Originally Published: Apr 3, 2010 5:3 PM CDT

Corey DeMoss
Oklahoma Sports Staff Writer

NORMAN, Oklahoma – The No. 9 OU baseball team managed to score its first runs of the series, but still finished with a 9-3 loss and a three-game sweep at the hands of No. 7 Texas Saturday.

The Longhorns (21-7, 7-2) were on fire from the plate to start the game, scoring six runs in the first four innings. Cameron Rupp started things with a two-run single in the first inning, and the Longhorns added an unearned run in the second.

The first batter of the third inning, Tant Shepherd, led off with a home run that chased OU starter J.R. Robinson after just two innings of work. Michael Rocha entered in relief and surrendered another homer to his first batter, Kevin Keyes. After giving up a hit to the next batter, Rocha left without recording an out.

Rupp added a second RBI single in the fourth inning to stretch Texas’ lead to 6-0. The Sooners finally ended their streak of 21 scoreless innings with a two-run home run by Max White in the bottom of the inning, but they could never mount any consistent offense.

The Longhorns added two more runs in the seventh, while Ricky Eisenberg connected onan RBI double for OU in the eighth to finish the Sooners’ scoring. Texas added one more insurance run in the ninth on Keyes’ second homer of the game.

Robinson was handed the loss after giving up four runs in his two innings of work. Brandon Workman gave Texas another solid outing from its starter, pitching eight innings and giving up all three runs while striking out eight batters. The Longhorns' three starters all pitched at least seven innings and they needed a total of only six pitchers throughout the series.

The Sooners finished the game with four hits to give them 11 in the entire three-game series. The Longhorns recorded the same number of hits – and forced OU to use six different pitchers – in Saturday’s game alone.

OU still has not won a series against its rival in 12 years, but will look to recover from its three-game losing streak when it travels to Fort Worth, Texas, to face TCU at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday. The Sooners’ next home series will begin against Big 12 foe Missouri at 6:30 p.m. Friday.