No. 8 OU baseball (19-8, 4-5 SEC) lost to No. 2 Texas (23-4, 6-2 SEC) 4-5 in 10 innings in the series finale on Saturday.
OU struggled against Texas in the series opener, falling 14-0 by run rule. The final two contests proved to be more competitive, with each going into extra innings before ending in walk-off losses.
Here are the takeaways:
Pitching struggles continue for OU
OU struggled to find a consistent pitcher throughout their series with Texas, with the only strong performance coming from junior left-handed pitcher Cameron Johnson in game two.
Freshman left-handed pitcher Cord Rager threw a majority of the pitches Saturday for the Sooners, with 93 total pitches. He allowed three hits, two runs and two walks while recording three total strikeouts in the game.
Jaxon Willits shines despite loss
Junior infielder Jaxon Willits led OU offensively in the finale, delivering a strong outing for the Sooners.
Willits got three hits on five at-bats, along with scoring one of the four runs the Sooners would score in the game, and accumulating a .313 batting average.
Willits now has 26 hits, 15 runs, 23 runs batted in, 18 walks and two home runs on the season for the Sooners as he looks to continue his strong junior campaign.
Sooners allow Texas a walk-off victory for second game in a row.
OU built an early lead over the Longhorns with two runs in the second inning and one in the top of the third to give themselves a 3-0 advantage.
Texas responded with two runs in the bottom of the third to close the game within one, where it would remain unchanged until the sixth inning, when junior infielder Camden Johnson was able to draw a bases-loaded walk to extend the lead to 4-2.
Texas scored a run in each of the seventh and eighth innings to tie the game at 4-4. In the bottom of the 10th inning, Texas delivered a bases-loaded single up the middle to secure a walk-off win.
Next, the Sooners will take on Oral Roberts at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Chapman Park on ESPN+.
This story was edited by Laurie Jones.
