Sam Houston broke open a scoreless game with four runs in both the fifth and six innings to earn a series victory over No. 23 Oklahoma with an 8-5 win Sunday afternoon at L. Dale Mitchell Park in Norman.
The Bearkats lost the opening game of the series Friday 3-2 but bounced back to win 4-3 in 11 innings Saturday and out-score the Sooners Sunday afternoon. Sam Houston upped its season mark to 24-21. Nationally-ranked OU had won four in a row before Saturday's loss.
Hitless with only three runners reaching base in the first four innings, Oklahoma miscues and timely hitting helped spark an eight-run explosion.
Second baseman Jake McWilliam started everything in the fifth with a double to left field. Catcher Collin Yelich singled through the right side where a fielding error allowed McWilliam to come home for the game's first run. Right fielder Travis Lee singled to right center and both Yelich and Lee advanced to second and third base on a passed ball.
Left fielder Wyatt Powell's sacrifice bunt scored Yelich. Then Lee scored on another OU error on a ball hit by designated hitter Hayden Simerly. First baseman Spence Rahm's single through the left side score Simerly to put the Kats up 4-0.
The Kats put four more runs up in the sixth. First, MacWilliam walked and Yelich doubled. Shortstop Miles Manning singled to right field to bring in the inning's first tally. After Lee was hit by a pitch, Powell grounded out to second base to bring in Yelich. A single by Simerly brought in the final two runs.
Oklahoma rallied to score three runs on three hits and two Bearkat errors in the bottom of the eighth inning. After the first two Sooner batters struck out in the ninth, OU added two more runs on three hits and an error. But a fly out to center field ended the contest.
Yelich led the Kats at the plate, going 2-for-3 while Powell and Simerly each produced a pair of RBIs.
Bearkat starter Sam Odom (3-4) earned the victory, giving up only three hits in the 30 batters he faced while fanning six in seven and one third innings. Greg Belton closed out the final inning and two thirds facing 10 batters. He struck out three and gave up four hits.
For the series, Sam Houston out-scored the Sooners 14-11, hitting .227 as a team. MacWilliam went 4-for-7 for a .571 for the weekend. Colt Atwood wwas 4-for-10 (.400) and Simerly 5-for-14 (.357).
The Bearkat pitching staff limited Oklahoma to a .183 team batting average in the three games. Alex Bisacca pitched in relief in the first two contests, holder OU batters hitless for five and two-thirds innings and picking up the win in the second game.
Sam Houston continues its non-conference road swing Tuesday with a rematch with the University of Houston at 6:35 p.m. in Houston. The Cougars defeated the Kats 17-7 in Huntsville on March. 10.
The Bearkats will play host to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in an important Southland Conference series beginning Friday, May 1, at 6:30 p.m. at Don Sanders Stadium.
