AUSTIN (KXAN) — The No. 14 Texas Longhorns baseball team fell into a deep hole they couldn’t dig itself out of in the first game of the Saturday doubleheader against Oklahoma at UFCU Disch-Falk Field.
The Sooners built an 8-0 lead after two innings and hung on to beat the Longhorns 9-6 in the day’s opening game. The threat of rain Sunday forced the teams into playing a double-dip Saturday. The second game of the day and the last of the series is scheduled to start at 6:30 p.m.
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Starting pitching was again an Achilles heel of the Longhorns as Travis Sthele lasted just an inning, allowing three runs on a hit with three walks. He faced seven hitters before Zane Morehouse took over. Morehouse also walked three Sooners in 1.2 innings of work, and he allowed five earned runs on two hits in 10 batters faced.
Chase Lummus kept the Longhorns in it with five strong innings of relief, allowing one run on four hits with five strikeouts.
After Oklahoma tacked eight runs on the board early on, Texas started to chip away at the deficit in the third inning. Peyton Powell scored Mitchell Daly with a single to get Texas’ first run, and then Jaylin Flores came through with an RBI single in the fourth. Garret Guillemette knocked in a run with a single in the fifth, and then the Longhorns’ offense really came to life.
Following a Jack O’Dowd RBI double in the sixth, Dylan Campbell hit a line-drive opposite-field 2-run home run to cut Oklahoma’s lead to 8-6. However, the big blast was the last time Texas scored despite outhitting the Sooners 11-7 for the game.
Powell, Guillemette and O’Dowd each had two hits for the Longhorns. Texas pitchers issued eight walks while Oklahoma’s staff walked a pair.
For the Sooners, Anthony Mackenzie went 3-for-5 at the plate with three RBIs.
Oklahoma won the first game of the series 2-1 on Friday. Texas needs to win the third game to salvage the series and avoid being swept. Kobe Minchey is slated to start on the mound for the Longhorns in the nightcap.
Details from the second game of the doubleheader will be added later tonight.