The Oklahoma Sooners entered the NCAA Tournament looking to snap a losing streak. Falling behind 2-0 in the second inning to the Xavier Musketeers, Coach Pete Hughes continued to lean on pitcher Devon Perez. Delivering 107 pitches, the right handed pitcher recorded 66 strikes. Holding the opponent at bay, the bats finally came alive. Plating seven runs in the bottom of the seventh inning, Oklahoma moved into the winners bracket of the Louisville regional.
The scoring started after Domenic DeRenzo looped a triple to center field. With a single out on the board, the Sooners received a bit of luck. Striking out, Kyle Mendenhall reached base thanks to the rules of baseball and an error from Xavier. As the inning continued to roll on, Oklahoma loaded the bases as Brandon Zaragoza drew a walk. All it would take was one swing of the bat for OU to pull ahead.
Sophomore Cade Harris knocked a ball deep into the outfield. With one hit, the runners cleared the bases leaving Harris with a 3-RBI shot on second. Scrambling to find an answer, Xavier gave up numerous hits following Harris. Behind five straight singles, Oklahoma extended the lead to 7-2.
Clamping down on defense, the Sooners refused to allow the Musketeers back into the game. Now, OU is set to play No. 7 Louisville on Saturday.