The Houston Cougars had no answers for the questions the Oklahoma Sooners were posing on Saturday afternoon in Norman, Oklahoma as the Sooners took game two of the weekend by a final score of 19-1.
For the second straight day, Ryan Hernandez was not anchoring the lineup, still nursing an injury . . . Hernandez injured himself on the final play of last Sunday’s win in San Marcos, and has only had one pinch-hitting since then, that came on Tuesday against Texas A&M.
After neither team scored in the first frame, Oklahoma took a modest 1-0 in the bottom of the second on Houston starter Cameron Prayer, making his first Saturday start of the season, but his fourth start overall.
Things unraveled at that point when a four run third was followed by a five run fourth, both of which preceded a six run fifth as Oklahoma took a commanding 16-0 lead.
Oklahoma starter Jake Bennett went six strong innings allowing just two hits and striking out six on an efficient seventy-six pitches . . . While the Sooners bullpen kept Houston off the scoreboard, Oklahoma was adding to their lead on a three-run home run in the seventh to extend the lead to 19-0.
Houston finally got a run across the plate in the eighth when Brad Burckel singled to score Luke Almendarez from third to make the score 19-1 . . . Almendarez was on base after his second single of the afternoon, he was 2-for-3 in the game and the only Cougars with more than one hit.
Carter Henry pitched the seventh and eighth innings for the Cougars, he was the only pitcher that Oklahoma did not score on . . . Henry allowed two hits, as the Sooners collected twenty total hits on Saturday.
The Cougars will try to salvage a game on this road trip when they face-off against the Sooners again on Sunday . . . Ben Sears will be on the mound for Houston . . . First pitch will be at noon. –
Houston Cougars Baseball Beat 