Oklahoma got off to a good start Monday afternoon in Tallahassee but they were eventually overtaken by a Mississippi State team that’s riding a high wave of momentum.
Brady Lindsly reached base in the second inning on a strikeout and a wild pitch. Following a Thomas Hughes walk, the Sooners used a sacrifice bunt from Kyle Mendenhall and a RBI groundout from Justin Mitchell to grab an early 1-0 lead.
The Bulldogs used a two-out RBI double to right field, from Justin Foscue, in the fourth inning to take lead. Then, in the fifth, Mississippi State added a run on Rowdey Jordan’s two-out RBI single to push its advantage to 3-1.
Mississippi State added another run in the fifth inning and and again in the eighth, before recording four runs in the ninth to put the game away with a more than comfortable 8-1 lead. A two-RBI single from Jordan Westburg and a two-run homer off the bat of Jake Mangum allowed the Bulldogs to extend their lead to 8-1 in the final inning.
OU freshman left-hander Levi Prater took the loss for the Sooners, matching his season-high with 4.2 innings pitched. Prater (3-4) allowed three runs and three hits to go along with two strikeouts.
Oklahoma’s Thomas Hughes, Kyle Mendenhall, Brylie Ware, Nathan Wiles and Brandon Zaragoza all earned a spot on the NCAA Tallahassee All-Regional Team.