No. 9 Oklahoma Outlasts Kansas 10-9 in Extra Innings
May 3, 2009
NORMAN, Okla. –
Sophomore Tony Thompson hit a pair of three-run homers, but it was not enough to offset Casey Johnson’s RBI double in the bottom of the 10th that plated the winning run as No. 9 Oklahoma avoided a sweep with a 10-9 extra innings triumph over Kansas in a Big 12 baseball game at L. Dale Mitchell Park.
Kansas snaps its six-game winning streak, and falls to 33-16 overall and 12-9 in conference play, while the Sooners improve to 34-14 and 12-9 in the Big 12. After results Sunday, the Jayhawks and Sooners are tied for fourth in the conference standings. Both teams have six Big 12 games remaining.
The Jayhawks led 2-0 early, and 9-7 heading into the bottom of the seventh, but couldn’t close out their third conference sweep of the season.
OU plated the winning run in the 10th after Tyler Ogle was hit by a pitch with one out and left fielder Casey Johnson launched a double into the left-center gap. It was the Jayhawks’ first extra inning loss since a 10th inning defeat at Arkansas on Feb. 26.
For the second straight day, Kansas knocked the Sooners’ starting pitcher out in the first inning. Junior David Narodowski led off with a single and Robby Price was hit by a pitch. After Brian Heere sacrificed the runners to second and third, senior Buck Afenir singled to left field to stake the Jayhawks to a 2-0 advantage.
However, unlike Friday and Saturday night, Sooners came right back. OU sent 11 men to the plate in the first and scored six times to make KU call the bullpen early.
Junior Brett Bollman responded by coming out to pitch six innings in relief, and kept KU in the game. Bollman did allow four runs on six hits, but retired eight Sooners in a row during two separate stretches.
Down 6-2 in the third, Thompson brought the Jayhawks within one with his first three-run home run of the game – a high fly over the left field wall.
Two innings later, Thompson gave KU a 9-7 lead with a drive over the right field fence with Brian Heere and Buck Afenir on base in front of him. It marked the sophomore’s third multi-homer game of the season, and second in three weeks.
Thompson has now tied the KU record for home runs by a sophomore with 14. His 14 round-trippers also equal the fourth-best single-season total by a Kansas player, done in 2006 by Erik Morrison.
However, the heroics would be short-lived as the Sooners plated two runs in the seventh off Bollman to tie the game and send it to extra innings.
KU collected just six hits in the game, with two of them coming off the bat of Thompson.
The loss snapped KU’s seven-game winning streak over Oklahoma, which dated back to 2007. The Jayhawks have, however, won three straight three-game series from the Sooners.
KU will look to bounce back Wednesday with a midweek game at Wichita State, with first pitch scheduled for 7 p.m. The game can be heard on KLWN (1320 AM).
