First, Augie-isms---
Part of his opening statement:
"The difference in today's game was that we both got a man to 3rd base early in the game. We committed an error and they scored. We didn't get our guy to score from 3rd. Then, a little later on we both got the bases loaded in the middle innings. They got a grand slam. We couldn't get a run across. Those were the plays that accounted for the levels of separation that made a difference in the game."
On A&M using Friday ace Kyle Nicholson in relief tonight:
"I thought it was a brilliant decision to use their best pitcher to shut us down. It was a great move to get them a win tonight."
When asked what this loss means:
"First off, you can't afford to lose. Not at Texas. Any loss goes down hard here at Texas."
.
Texas A&M Coach Rob Childress---
On playing the first game today:
"I like playing early. I do. Because unless there is rain or something, you KNOW when you're going to play. It's not like sitting around all day and playing a 10:45pm game like they did last night. I like playing early anyway. In fact, I think we're going to get up early tomorrow and practice."
On the effect of this game and last week's sweep to Texas on the post-season:
"Well I hope that one weekend doesn't decide your season either way. We've played well all season and played a tough schedule too. We just hope the committee looks at that and we're able to play at home, because that's how you get to Omaha."
Big 12: Aggies blast another one, have a coach kicked out
Blake Stouffer parked a solo shot in the bottom of the 5th to increase the Aggie lead to 7-2.
But in the bottom of the 6th, Aggie assistant coach Jeremy Talbot was barking not-for-elementary-school-kids words at umpire Jeff Heinrichs and his mobile strike zone. Heinrichs removed his masked, leaned his ear toward the A&M dugout. Apparently Talbot said the expletive a second time, so Heinrichs gave him the heave-ho.
That, of course, got the ire of Rob Childress, who gave Heinrichs a good lashing as well. But he didn't get run.
Oap! As I wrote this, the Horns just plated a run to pull within 7-3. And get this, the subsequent A&M pitching change has staff ace and National Player of the Year candidate Kyle Nicholson now entering the game. Go figure.
Texas A&M just went ahead of Texas 6-2 after three full innings here in OKC.
Aggie catcher Craig Stinson just sent a shot to the top row of the left field bleachers with three ducks on the pond. Monster shot, man. It's another example of how the Aggies big bats have come around too. In their first 22 games of the season, A&M hit just 11 dingers. In the last 34 games since, they've had 45. None as jaw-dropping as that one, I'm sure.
This was Stinson's 11th yard call of the year.
By the way people, if you wanna read something really, really entertaining, check out yesterday's Missouri Valley Conference post-game presser featuring Wichita State's Gene Stephenson that was written by Jean Neuberger. It's a freakin' riot... unless you're a Shocker fan of course. Nice work Jean.
See? THAT'S why these live blogs work so damn well. You don't get that detailed of a recount of an incident like that anywhere else.
Jackson Williams has done damage to the Cowboys all series long, but no hit was bigger than the two-out RBI double up the middle to score Aaron Ivey to give the Sooners the lead 6-5. The Sooners Aaron Baker did not want to be out done by his teammate, so he hit an RBI single to add to the Sooner lead and possibly the win.
At the midway point of nine, Sooners lead 7-5. Lets see what plays out from here as the Sooners send out Nich Conaway to finish of the Cowboys, but he got banged pretty hard last inning.
The Oklahoma State Cowboys put runners on first and second with no outs, but Nich Conaway and the Sooners got Cowboy hitters Matt Mangini to strikeout and Jordy Mercer to ground into an inning ending double play. That inning (the seventh) could be what saves the Sooners from the sweep and keeps the Cowboys from riding on a high horse for a week as they head into Lubbock, Tx to face Texas Tech next weekend.
The Sooners need this game badly as they are in grave danger of falling in the Big 12 standings and missing the Big 12 tournament. The Cowboys are trying to catch Big 12 leaders Texas and Missouri while maintaining their third place standing in the conference.
Here we head to the bottom of the eight as Cowboy fans chant "ORANGE-POWER" that goes from first base side yelling "ORANGE" and the third base replying with "POWER." The chant is chilling to the spine of the Sooner fans, as they hate all things orange, which belong to their two biggest rivals in the Texas Longhorns and the Cowboys.
The Sooners Nich Conaway came into the game late in the third inning to get the final out of the inning. He has since shut down the Cowboys in consecutive innings for the first time all game. That is an impressive thing to do for Conaway and the Sooners, as he is the only pitcher since game one starter Stephen Porlier did it in the first two innings of game one. Conaway will look to do what no other Sooner pitcher has done all weekend long, shut the Cowboys out for three consecutive innings.
Well Conaway has done it. He is the first pitcher for the Sooners to shut out the Cowboys in three consecutive innings. The Cowboys scared in the bottom of the sixth by putting runners on first and second, but the Pokes were not able to do anything with those runners after putting them on with two out. The two out rally was killed by Conaway when he got Tyler Mach to groundout to end the inning.
The Sooners Aljay Davis hit the go ahead run in the top of the fourth inning with a line shot homerun. Davis is the nine-hole batter in the Sooners lineup today and is a guy you would not expect to go yard, but he did for the first time this season and that put the Sooners up 5-4 heading into the bottom of the fourth.
In the bottom half of the fourth the Cowboys had no answer this time around and the Sooners finally have a lead they can hang on to, for at least an inning or two.
On a day that was predicted to have rain showers all day has now subsided and turned into a beautiful sunny day for the fans to sit and enjoy from both teams. The wind is a little strong, pushing 27 mph from right to left field, which could provide for some excitement from both teams.
The Oklahoma State Cowboys took games one, two and look to take the third for the sweep after suffering a sweep last week to Texas. For the Oklahoma Sooners, they are holding out hope to not be swept, but the odds are not in there favor. The Sooners will have to get quite mighty with the sticks as they have four batters hitting .333 or better led by Aaron Baker who is hitting an astonishing .571 this series with the Cowboys. The Cowboys have six batters hitting .333 or better. The Cowboys are led by Ty Wright's .571 mark for the series.
This game must not be as important to the fans as the last two games were as they have not really put that many fannies in the seats today. Last nights game brought a little over 12,000 fans and Friday nights game brought in over 11,000 to give a total of 23,000 (plus) fans. So far the attendance is around 5,000 fans or so. The attendance goal for the weekend was right around 30,000.
Well on to today's starting pitchers. The Cowboys will throw Joe Kent for his second Sunday start in a row. Kent took the loss last week to Texas and lasted two innings. Here nor there Kent has a 3.03 ERA and a 4-1 record. The Sooners counter with Joseph Hughes for his 10th start on the season. Hughes is also a pretty good hitter, as he is hitting .500 in the series. Hughes has a 5.24 ERA and 5-3 record. Here is to seeing a third day of great baseball.
After shuffling the game time from 7:00, to 7:35, then to 8:00 because of inclement weather. Well the bad weather has subsided and the fans are appreciative as they have piled into Bricktown ballpark for game two to the Bedlam baseball series. Like I said before the Cowboy fans have outnumbered the Sooner fans for the second game in a row.
Here we are heading to the fifth and both teams still have their respective starting pitchers on the mound.
Oliver Odle has really settled down and got in a nice groove. Odle is not a flashy pitcher by any means, but he gets the job done. He forces batters to pop up and ground out. Well in the top of the fifth Odle got the Sooners Aaron Reza to ground into a 5-3 double play (that means from the third baseman stepped on third and then threw over to first) to end the Sooners scare.
Headed to the bottom of the fifth, Cowboys still lead 4-2.
In the top of the first inning the Oklahoma Sooners scored first for the second night in a row. Aaron Ivey got things started for the Sooners as he led the game off with a single up the middle, but was thrown out on an attempted steal after OSU catcher Ryan Pittman gave up a passed ball. Pittman recovered well and nailed Ivey at second on a great play. Joe Dunigan was next for the Sooners as he drew a walk and scored on the next at bat when Aaron Reza singled deep to right-center. The Sooners added another run to their lead when Reza scored the second run of the inning off a fielders choice hit by Jackson Williams.
The Cowboys went down 1,2,3 to end the first and give the Sooners the first inning. Sooners lead 2-0 after one.
The Oklahoma State Cowboys and their fans are elated to yell like Billy Idol intended after Rebel Ridling hit a 2-run line drive homerun in the bottom of the seventh inning to tie the game at 7-7. With that said, Cowboy sophomore Jordy Mercer hit an out of sight deep into the Tulsa skyline for his fourth homerun of the season to give OSU the lead 8-7.
Well folks, I may be young but I have seen a lot of baseball and I have not seen a team that looked ultimately defeated to have this type of comeback in hand. Well it's only the top of the eight and in the words of Texas Longhorns head coach Augie Garrido "hey, that's baseball." Well Augie's right and the game is yet to finish, so who knows what will happen from here.
The Cowboys are now on their fifth pitcher. Justin Friend came in for relief of Brandon Adams in the top of the eighth to shut down the side for only the second time this game.
The Cowboys are now on their fourth pitcher of the game through six innings. One thing that is known around the Big 12 is that Cowboys head coach Frank Anderson will throw as many pitchers that it takes to get through a game. I would no be surprised to see another pitcher or two before the game is over.
After the top of the sixth, Sooners lead Cowboys 7-5.
The Cowboys are not ones to be left out of the run column for too long and senior Ty Wright answered the call with a deep two RBI triple to center field. The Cowboys put runners on first and second with consecutive singles by Kendall Horner and Keanon Simon. Wright then stepped to the plate and delivered a huge hit to deep center field and you know the rest from the previously mentioned info.
After the Cowboys added two runs to cut the Sooner lead to 7-5, Stephen Porlier was relieved by Nich Conway for the last out of the sixth.
OSU-OU: Breedlove hits the showers, Sooners increase lead again
After the Cowboys closed the gap on the Sooners in the fifth, Jeff Breedlove went out and loaded the bases for the Sooners, while only picking up one out before being relieved of his duties for Robbie Weinhardt. The Sooners then sent in pinch hitter Mike Gosse who stepped in and hit a two-run RBI single for them to increase their lead to 6-3.
The Sooners loaded the bases again on a nicely placed bunt down the first baseline by Joseph Hughes. Aaron Ivey hit a sure thing groundout, but after shortstop Jordy Mercer made the throw to catcher Ryan Flavell to get the force out at home, Flavell dropped the ball and the Sooners added another run to the board to move the score
The Sooners now have three unearned runs on the night. Well after Weinhardt made his entrance for only three hitters he was subsequently relieved by Josh Fritsche, who came in and retired the next two Sooner hitters.
OSU-OU: Sooners scare but nothing doin; Cowboys close the gap
The Sooners put two runners on with two outs, but could not come up with that pungent third hit to increase their three-run lead. Cowboys starter Jeff Breedlove is not throwing a gem like last week, but he is hanging strong to keep the Cowboys within striking distance. Headed to the bottom of the fifth the Sooners lead the Cowboys 4-1.
With one run already added to the lead for the Sooners, Jackson Williams launched a bomb to deep left field to add to the Sooner lead and make it 4-1 heading to the bottom of the fourth inning.
For Williams the homer was his third of the season and his second Bedlam homerun of his career. He now has 11 RBIs in his last eight games.
The Cowboys went into the bottom of the fourth inning looking to strike back on the Sooners, but it was to no avail as the Cowboys only got one runner on base thanks to the Sooners Zach Hedges second error of the game. The one runner was all the Cowboys could muster. Here at Drillers Stadium the Sooners lead the Cowboys 4-1 at the end of four.
A terrible throw to first base to end the third inning by Oklahoma third baseman Zach Hedges, who is the Sooners sixth starting third baseman of the season, scored Corey Brown all the way from first. So after the awry throw by Hedges the Cowboys have cut the lead to 2-1 after three innings.
Between the third and fourth inning the Tulsa Drillers marketing team had a little Bedlam fun between the fans. The Drillers hosted a dizzy bat race between an OSU fan and a OU fan. The Cowboys pulled that race off but currently trail the Sooners 3-1 in the top of the fourth.
After the Cowboys made a few errors to put Sooner runners in scoring position at second and third base. They struck with an Jackson Williams groundout to advance the runners to score and to third. Then Aljay Davis for the Sooners hit the second run in of the inning to move the Sooners lead to 2-0 in the Top of the 2nd.
In the bottom of the second inning the Cowboys put runners on first and second with no outs after getting a walk from Matt Mangini and a hit from Rebel Ridling. Well OU's Stephen Porlier got the next three Cowboys to head to the dugout. Porlier got Jordy Mercer and Donnie Webb to strikeout, while getting nine-hole batter Ryan Flavell to groundout to end the inning.
After the first inning down and eight to go, the Sooners and Cowboys are all tied up 0-0. The only action was Cowboy senior Ty Wright extending his hitting streak to 22 games. The Cowboys have had plenty of lengthy hit streaks through the years. The longest hit streak in Cowboy history and in NCAA history belongs to Oklahoma States own Robin Ventura, who owns the 58-game hit streak. The next streaks in line for Wright to catch are 23, 24, 25 and 58 of course.
The Bedlam series game 1 has sold out in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The Bedlam baseball series is a three-game series that is played in two cities in three days. Game one is played in Tulsa at Drillers Stadium, a double-A farm team stadium, and games two and three played in Oklahoma City at Bricktown Ballpark, which is a Triple-A ballpark.
The Oklahoma State Cowboy fans must have got the message the their team was in town, because they out number the Sooner fans by far.
Oklahoma State and Oklahoma will have a meeting on the diamond to try and stop losing streaks. I say streaks because both teams are coming into the series with a three-game and two-game losing streak respectively. The losing streak goes back a year for the Oklahoma Sooners who were swept last season by the Cowboys will also look to revenge those losses and would like to pick up some winning steam headed to the end of the regular season. The Sooners are currently in sixth place in the Big 12 with an 8-10 league record and 28-17 overall. The Cowboys come into the series after being swept last weekend by the Texas Longhorns, who might be the best team in the nation and if not they are the best team in the Big 12. The Cowboys are third in the Big 12 with a 10-8 league record and 31-13 overall. Luckily for the Cowboys they had final exams to take the mind off baseball for the week, which could pay dividends at the right time.
For the first time since the inception of Allie P. Reynolds stadium, which was 26 years ago, the Oklahoma State Cowboys have lost three straight games. The series against the Longhorns was billed as the battle for Big 12 supremacy, but only the Longhorns can say they are supreme. Not only did the Longhorns snap a 26 year streak, they also shut out the Cowboys at home, which has not happened since 1998. The Cowboys inserted foot in mouth with their chances of possibly hosting a regional series. Are the Cowboys good enough to host yes, did they prove they could with their performance this weekend, no. For the Longhorns you could probably go ahead and stamp their name on the College World Series ticket.
There is still a lot of games to be played for both teams, so anything can happen from this point. The Longhorns have two Big 12 series remaining, they face second place Missouri next weekend, then face a talented Texas A&M squad to end the regular season. For the Cowboys they have the pleasure of facing in-state rival Oklahoma this coming weekend for "Bedlam". Last season the Cowboys swept the Sooners and will look to do it again after taking one on the chin from the Horns. After Oklahoma the Cowboys travel to Lubbock, Tx to face Texas Tech, after Tech the Cowboys will head to Wichita to face the Shockers in a mid-week game that will feature major post-season implications. The Cowboys will wrap up the regular season at home against the Missouri Tigers. So with a major disappointment on their hands from this weekend the Cowboys still have a chance to pick up the pieces. The Longhorns will most likely motor on to another Big 12 championship.
UT starter Austin Wood is in control of this game through four innings of work. Wood has two strikeouts and allowed only 2 hits. The Cowboys are hitting the ball hard for the third straight game, but for a third straight time OSU has hit right at the Longhorns. OSU better start finding the gaps soon or they will be in some serious trouble heading down the stretch of the season. With the Longhorns playing in tip-top shape they seem to be in total control of their destiny. Heading to the bottom of the fifth Horns lead 3-0.
OSU-Texas: Horns strike first; Cowboys make pitching move
For the first time all weekend the Texas Longhorns scored the games first run. On Friday and Saturday the OSU Cowboys struck first by mounting a 2-0 lead in each game, but the Longhorns would go on to win each game. this time around the Horns struck first after they loaded the bases in the top of the third. Kyle Russell hit a sac fly to score the first run. So with only 1 out in the top of the third 1-0 Texas. Lets see if the lead stays the whole game or if it will be a little role reversal.
With the bases loaded for the second time in the third, OSU starter Joe Kent walked his second batter of the inning to put Texas up 2-0. After Kent walked in the second run he was relieved by Justin Friend, after a 2-2 count Friend balked in the third run for the Longhorns. Homeplate umpire Mike Morris has made five balk call this weekend, the first four where from Friday's game and the one today.
The first inning went fast and efficient as each team went down in order. Interesting note is Longhorns power hitter, who is considered one of the best hitters in the nation has moved from the 3-hole to the 2-hole spot in the line-up. Russell is 1-7 in the series, Texas head coach Augie Garrido must be trying to shake things up to break him loose on the Cowboy pitching staff. It was to no avail as Russell struck out in his first at bat to move him to 1-8, good for .125 on the weekend. So hey Russell, where you at?
In today's match-up the Longhorns took advantage of the Cowboy pitchers making mistake pitches for the second consecutive game. The Longhorns take game two 7-2 and look to sweep the Cowboys for the second consecutive year. The Cowboys have never last three games in a row since the inception of Allie P. Reynolds stadium in 1981, that is good for a 26 year streak. For tomorrow the Cowboys will look to get back in the win column and protect the home field streak. The Cowboys this season have not lost more than two games in a row.
I have now seen and understand why the Texas Longhorns are so good. The have good pitching and do all the little things to give the team its strong swagger. Head coach Augie Garrido seems to think the only reason the Cowboys have not fared better against the 'Horns through the two games is because the Cowboys are hitting the ball hard, but right at his players. Can't complain about good luck like that. Oh the game of baseball and how the tides can turn so quickly. See all tomorrow for game three at 1 p.m. in Stillwater.
Homeplate umpire John Ausmus drew the ire of Cowboy fans as he produced some questionable calls on way inside corners to halt the Cowboys comeback chances in the seventh. The Cowboys loaded the bases with only one out, just to see two of the Cowboys best hitters in Corey Brown and Tyler Mach strikeout looking. The calls drew the ire of the fans and the batters as both chatted it up with Ausmus.
At the end of the seventh still 7-2 Longhorns. Boy I tell you this series has not gone anything like I thought it would have.
After giving up a 2-run homer in the first Adrian Alaniz has shut out the Cowboys for five straight innings. He has not shown great stuff but has continually forced the Cowboys to hit right at his position players.
Alaniz's line so far: 6 innings, 5 hits, 2 runs, 3 walks, 5 strikeouts, 1 wild pitch, and 99 pitches.
OSU-Texas: Odle strutting his stuff; Fans voice their opininon
Starting pitcher Oliver Odle for the Cowboys has only one strikeout so far, but for him thats the norm. Odle is a pitcher that forces batters into a lot of ground ball and some fly balls as well. Odle makes very few mistakes on the mound. He has only given up one hit against the very talented Texas Longhorns.
OSU fans are still very upset with this officiating crew. Every few pitches you can hear the sounds of "that's a balk'" which is from yesterdays game the Cowboys received four balk calls, some other sounds you can hear which are not to harsh are, "you suck" and some others that will have to remains unsaid for extreme fowl language.
Going into the bottom of the second score still 2-0, OSU.
Adrian Alaniz is not who I thought he was. It may not make sense, but Alaniz was billed to me as one of the best pitchers in the Big 12 and the best the 'Horns have. Well in the bottom of the first Alaniz has allowed a two-run homerun Brown, three hits, and one walk. He did survive the inning though after a brief mound visit from Longhorn pitching coach Skip Johnson. Alaniz did face seven Cowboy hitters in the inning.
With last nights game turning out to be a role reversal of sorts with the Texas Longhorns hitting two home runs and taking game one of the three game series 3-2.
Today's game is a match-up of each team's ace pitcher. Adrian Alaniz hits center stage for the 'Horns sporting a 10-2 record and a 2.54 ERA. Alaniz will be matched up against the Cowboys ace Oliver Odle, who come in with a 4-3 record and a 4.80 ERA.
Well the attendance was nice last night in an almost capacity crowd at Allie P. Reynolds stadium. I thought that it may be due to the game being on TV, well the crowd has come out in droves today as well. OSU must have put the good word out that there are some huge baseball games this weekend. Message received and why not, the weather is great today as was yesterday. Todays temps are high 70s to low 80s with the wind blowing south, which is directly towards homeplate.
OSU basketball player Byron Eaton threw out first pitch for a strike in todays rubber match. Eaton is famous for his acrobatic half court shot in the triple over-time game against none other than the Texas Longhorns, which the Cowboys went on to win.
Kansas jumped out to a 9-2 lead over Nebraska and held on to win 9-7. The win gives the Jayhawks their first Big 12 Tournament championship and an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
There is still quite a bit of surprise and amusement in the press box that KU's Ryne Price will be the only player to miss today's game. Price is replaced in the batting order by Brock Simpson, and the Jayhawks have shuffled their defensive positions with Jared Schweitzer moving to 2B.
Kansas got a run in the eighth to beat Missouri 4-3 and will play Nebraska tomorrow at 1pm for the title. Kansas will only be one player short, as only Ryne Price has been suspended due to the brawl.
This game was expected to be a sellout, but no one expected both OU and OSU to be winless in the tournament. Still, the largest crowd of the tournament is watching OU pummel their rivals 11-0 in the third inning.
It was another classic between Texas and Nebraska. Nebraska scored a run in the 8th to take a 6-5 lead, and Brett Jensen shut down the Longhorns' attempted rally.
#6-seed Kansas shocked Oklahoma State and nearly 6000 fans with an 11-6 beat-down. Kansas jumped out to a 5-0 lead early, OSU tied it with a sixth-inning explosion, but Kansas answered with their own 5-spot in the bottom of the sixth and held on for the win.
Inside, Bricktown Ballpark most resembles Ameriquest Field, home of the Texas Rangers. On the outside, it most reminds me of Wrigley Field, partly because it’s surrounded by bars, and partly because of exterior viewing opportunities.
Missouri pushed across four runs in the 7th inning to end this one early. The final three runs came on catcher JC Field's wind-blown 3-run homer to left.
If you are the owner of the Max Scherzer voodoo doll, OU head coach Sunny Golloway would appreciate it if you could deliver it to the Sooner dugout. His team trails Missouri 5-0 at the end of three, and making up five runs against Scherzer looks to be almost an impossible mission.
Brilliant artistic inspiration reveals itself in many different forms. Leonardo da Vinci created the Mona Lisa. Michaelangelo created David. And Heather Misialek created the Fiesta Dog.
13 hours and 14 minutes after our first pitch, we've finished all four games. #7-seed Missouri broke a 4-4 tie with five runs in the top of the 9th to beat #2-seed Oklahoma State 9-5.
For the past decade, my two main hobbies in life have been college baseball and running marathons. Today, those hobbies have merged into one. I'm now passing the 12-hour mark at the ballpark today, so let's review how to be successful at marathoning.
6th-seeded Kansas rode some early-game power hitting and a strong pitching performance from Kodiak Quick to knock off the 3rd-seeded Sooners before 5K+ quiet and sad Oklahomans at Bricktown Ballpark.
In front of a partisan Sooner crowd, Kansas has a 6-0 lead on OU after four innings, thanks to power hitting from unlikely sources and solid pitching from ace Kodiak Quick.
After 4 innings, Texas leads Tech 3-0. Texas midweek starter Kenn Kasparek is pitching against Tech ace Miles Morgan. Augie Garrido is known for pulling surprise lineup changes, and he's even more well-known for those lineup changes paying off. Today's lineup change was moving part-time DH Hunter Harris from his normal #5 slot in the batting order up to the leadoff position for the first time this season.
Greetings from Oklahoma City! Is there a more enjoyable stretch of highway in this country than I-35 between San Marcos and Oklahoma City? Actually, yes... JUST ABOUT EVERY OTHER ONE. 434 miles of 18-wheelers, state troopers, a freakin' *LOOSE TIRE* bouncing through the lanes in Fort Worth that ALMOST GOT ME IN A PILEUP, THE ENDLESS CONSTRUCTION IN SOUTHERN OKLAHOMA... settle down man... go to your happy place, go to your happy place... Wait a minute, I *AM* in my happy place! I'm at Bricktown Ballpark watching Nebraska and Baylor! Life is good!
What a difference a weekend makes! This time last week, the Big 12 Tournament looked like a potential snoozer with Texas seemingly playing on a level several notches above the rest of the conference. But the Longhorns took a weekend trip to Columbia, and even though they had already locked up the conference regular season championship, Texas losing three straight to a rapidly improving Missouri team was shocking. Now the Big XII tournament looks about as muddled as an episode of "24."
