Sooners topple No. 7 TCU on the road

OU baseball swept its season series with perennial power TCU and won its fourth straight game with a 7-4 victory Tuesday night in Fort Worth, Texas.

The sweep is an impressive addition to the Sooners’ nonconference resume and may be crucial when NCAA tournament seeding is determined next month.

Oklahoma came out firing, scoring in each of the first three innings off TCU starter Andrew Mitchell.

In the first inning, the Sooners had two straight one-out doubles from junior shortstop Caleb Bushyhead and junior third baseman Garrett Buechele to get on the board.

In the second frame, junior designated hitter Evan Mistich hit OU’s third double of the night to lead off the inning. After a fly-out and a hit-by-pitch, a two-error double play attempt by TCU allowed Mistich to score and moved senior second baseman Cale Ellis to third with the batter, junior center fielder Eric Ross, holding at first. On a Bushyhead strikeout, Ross stole second, allowing Ellis to score on a throwing error from the TCU catcher.

The Sooners added a fourth run next time up when senior left fielder Casey Johnson tripled to score junior catcher Tyler Ogle from first.

TCU also got on the board early by manufacturing runs in both the second and third. The Horned Frogs scored a run off a sacrifice fly in the second and then on a single up the middle in the third to bring the score to 4-2.

OU was shut out in the fourth, but TCU was again able to tack on a run, this time off a solo homer by senior first baseman Joe Weik.

The Sooners continued to cling to a one run lead until the sixth inning when they were able to extend the lead to two. Mistich singled through the left side to lead off the inning. After two groundouts, Mistich stood at third with Ross at the plate. Ross singled to center to bring Mistich home and bring the score to 5-3.

OU added insurance runs in both the eighth and ninth, but they proved unnecessary as the Horned Frogs only managed one more run in a last-second effort in the ninth.

Senior righty Bobby Shore was the winner for OU in a scheduled short start. Shore threw three innings, giving up two runs on four hits with three strikeouts. Much of the grunt work was done by freshman lefty Dillon Overton, who threw four innings of dominating pitching. Overton gave up only one hit in relief, the homer to Weik in the fourth.

The Sooners will head to Austin, Texas, on Friday for their toughest test of the season when they take on the No. 4 Texas Longhorns. The three-game series will test OU’s four-game winning streak and be a chance for the Sooners to gain ground in the Big 12 title race.

Ryan Gerbosi

Ryan is a former staff member of The Oklahoma Daily who worked as News Reporter and Sports Reporter.