NORMAN, Okla. – Nine runs in the second inning and a 5 2/3 inning start from Oklahoma's Braden Davis led the Sooners to a 12-5 victory over K-State in the series opener Friday night at L. Dale Mitchell Park.
Oklahoma's (19-14, 9-4 Big 12) offense supported Davis with 12 hits – 11 of which came in a four-inning span. Three players recorded a trio of hits in the game while Kendall Pettis, who went 1-for-4, drove in a game-high three runs.
"Unfortunately, we had a bad beginning of the game and that's a lot of runs to chase in a baseball game," said head coach Pete Hughes. "I say it time and time again, you have to damage control those innings in this league and if you don't it decides the game and that's what decided tonight's game. Our inability to damage control the second inning.
"Davis (3-3) earned the victory for OU, as the left-hander held the Wildcats to one unearned run and allowed just four hits with seven strikeouts. "The bright spot is if Preston Martinez and Andrew Evans can pitch like that out of our pen then that bodes well for the depth of our bullpen moving forward. Time to get back into the series tomorrow," Hughes commented.
After the Sooners nine-run second inning, the Wildcat (21-11, 7-6 Big 12) bullpen of Jacob Frost, Martinez and Evans held the Sooners to just three runs – all scored in the fourth. Martinez and Evans each turned in two shutout innings with Evans closing the game.
Josh Wintroub suffered the loss in his seventh start at K-State (2-2). The graduate right-hander surrendered eight runs (six earned) on seven hits in his 1 2/3 innings with a pair of walks and strikeouts.
Eight different Wildcats generated a hit Friday with Nick English, who went 1-for-4 at the plate, driving in a team-best two RBI with a double in the seventh.
OU batted around and sent 13 batters to the plate in the second frame led off with a triple by Michael Snyder in the bottom of the inning. The Sooners continued to expand their lead, adding eight runs to the board with the help of six hits. Trailing 9-0 in the fourth, Brady Day registered the first hit of the series with a two-out double into right field. The Cats' second basemen has produced a hit in all but five games this season.
The Sooners extended their lead to 12 with three runs in the fourth.
K-State's best look to jump on the board early came in the fifth as Jayden Lobliner and Raphael Pelletier each singled to cause traffic on the base path but Davis punched out the final batter to end the threat.
Brendan Jones recorded his first base knock of the series to start off the sixth until the junior centerfielder stole second and third to move into scoring position. With Jones on third, Nick English hit a grounder to the mound where Davis was unable to come up with the play at home, allowing Jones to score and end the drought.
The Wildcats rallied for four runs in the seventh. David Bishop was hit by a pitch to start off the inning before the junior scored on a fielder's choice at second. Kaelen Culpepper singled to move Jones into scoring position until Jones scored on a hit up the middle by pinch hitter Jaden Parsons.
With Parsons on first and Culpepper on third, English doubled into center to plate the final two runs of the game.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- K-State scored five runs on eight hits, committed one error and left seven runners on base.
- OU scored 12 runs (nine in the second) on 12 hits with one error and stranded four runners on base.
- The Wildcats scored five late unanswered runs in a two-inning span.
- Eight different players generated a hit for K-State.
- English drove in a team-best two runs with an two-run double in the seventh.
- Wintroub (2-2) suffered the loss, surrendering eight runs (six earned) on seven hits.
- Davis (3-3) picked up the win, holding the Cats to one unearned run with four hits.
- K-State hit .313 (5-for-16) with runners on base and went 2-for-10 (.200) in scoring position, while OU was 8-for-18 with runners and 7-for-14 with runners in scoring position.
- The Wildcats hit .333 with two outs, producing three two-out RBI.
- OU was 8-for-18 (.533) with two outs and had seven two-out RBI.
NOTES
- OU leads the all-time series 206-86-1, including 53-26 in Big 12 contests.
- K-State is 27-103-1 in games played in Norman.
- Now with 56 career stolen bases, Jones ranks fifth all-time in K-State baseball history.
- With his double in the fourth, Day produced a hit in all but five games this season.
- Friday marked just the second loss to a left-handed starter (7-2).
ON DECKK-State looks to even the series Saturday at L. Dale Mitchell Park for round two against the Sooners, starting at 4 p.m. The Big 12 series can be seen on ESPN+ and the ESPN app, while radio coverage is available on News Radio KMAN (93.3 FM, 1350 AM). A free live streaming audio available for all games at KStateSports.com/watch and on the K-State Sports app.
How to follow the 'Cats: Stay up to date on K-State baseball online at www.kstatesports.com and on the team's social media channels on Facebook, X formally known as Twitter and Instagram.