Sooners drop 2 of 3 to Longhorns

Oklahoma beat Texas 12-7 Sunday afternoon to avoid a Longhorn sweep. The offensive performance, which marked the most runs for OU against Texas since it won 14-6 on May 9, 1998 in Norman, was highlighted by OU’s 18th game with 10 or more hits this season. Sunday also marked the tenth time in 2006 that the Sooners scored in double digits.

Kevin Smith, who hit a two-run home run in the sixth inning, led the charge and tied a career-high with five RBI on three hits. Ryan Rohlinger drove in three runs on two hits as P.J. Sandoval improved to 4-1. Sandoval had recorded no-decisions in his last two outings and earned his first win on Sunday since March 5 against UC Riverside.

Nine of OU’s runs came off Texas starter Adrian Alaniz (4-1), who was scheduled to start in game two but pitched in Friday’s game in the ninth to record the save. Alaniz no-hit the Sooners last season in Austin but was tagged for nine runs (eight earned) on Sunday off five hits and four walks in 3 2/3 innings tossed.

Sunday’s win snapped OU’s three-game losing streak and also stopped Texas’ six-game winning streak. Texas won the series opener on Friday, 2-0, and Saturday's game 9-4. The win moved No. 14 OU’s overall record to 21-9 and its Big 12 mark to 3-3, while the No. 11 Longhorns fell to 21-11 and 6-2.

Big 12 Baseball Standings

Texas 6-2-0 21-11-0
Nebraska 4-2-0 20-5-0
Missouri 6-3-0 16-11-0
Oklahoma State 3-3-0 18-7-0
Oklahoma 3-3-0 21-9-0
Texas Tech 4-4-0 22-10-0
Baylor 4-5-0 19-10-0
Kansas 4-5-0 20-11-0
Kansas State 2-4-0 20-5-0
Texas A&M 2-7-0 18-13-0