Today’s 14-9 loss to the No. 20 Kansas State Wildcats was not the way the No. 15 baseball team wanted to start the month of May after ending April with a four-game winning streak.

The Sooners (31-12, 9-9 Big 12) got out to a 1-0 lead in the second inning on an RBI-double by junior second baseman Danny Black, but junior pitcher Bobby Shore could not hold the lead for long.

Shore, who struck out three batters in his first two innings today, did not make it out of the third inning. He allowed six runs on six hits, including two home runs, in the inning, marking the shortest outing of the season for the right hander.

Head coach Sunny Golloway, who had been upset with the home plate umpire’s strike zone since the first inning, was ejected before the start of the fourth inning when an announcement to the home plate umpire about a defensive change turned into a heated argument. Golloway was the second OU coach to be ejected during the game as pitching coach Mike Bell was sent off in the third inning after making a hand motion criticizing the strike zone following a trip to the mound.

OU chipped away at the Wildcats’ (30-11, 10-6 Big 12) 6-1 lead by plating three runs in the fourth to narrow the gap to two runs. Sophomore shortstop Caleb Bushyhead started the scoring by driving in two-runs with a no-out double, and freshman designated hitter Drew Harrison plated Bushyhead with a bloop single to left field.

The Sooners closed the deficit to one run in the sixth inning on an RBI-sacrifice fly to left field by senior pinch hitter Ross Hubbard with the bases loaded.

But as soon as OU got close to tying the game, Kansas State touched up the Sooners’ bullpen for five runs on a string of singles and a double by the middle of the lineup in the seventh inning. The Wildcats scored one run in the eighth inning on an RBI-sacrifice fly by junior shortstop Carter Jurica.

OU was not down-and-out even though it was trailing 12-5 entering the bottom half of the eighth inning. Bushyhead led off the inning with a solo home run to right field, and the Sooners plated three more batters in the eighth inning to cut the Kansas State’s lead to 12-9.

But like the seventh inning, the Wildcats added insurance runs when OU threatened to tie the game. They scored two runs in the ninth inning before their bullpen set the Sooners down in order in the bottom of the frame to end the game.

“It is kind of frustrating when we’re trying to mount a comeback they keep adding runs on,” said sophomore third baseman Garrett Buechele, who extended his hitting streak to a career-tying high 15 games by going 1-5 with a triple and two RBIs.

The rubber game of the series is slated for 1 p.m. Sunday at L. Dale Mitchell Park, and senior pitcher J.R. Robinson (1-3, 5.08 ERA) will start on the mound.

The finale is big for both teams because they are fighting for a higher seed for the Big 12 tournament that will be held at the end of the month at Bricktown Ballpark in Oklahoma City.

“It’s huge to come back tomorrow,” Bushyhead said. “Finishing in the top half of the Big 12 is a big deal, so tomorrow’s game is pretty crucial.”