NORMAN, Okla. - Junior Alberto Rios and junior Tommy Troy each collected two extra base hits, but the No. 7 Stanford Cardinal fell to the Oklahoma Sooners 6-5 on Saturday.
Junior Drew Dowd (3-2) came out of the bullpen for Stanford (17-7) and took the loss after allowing four runs on six hits and three walks while striking out five over 3 1/3 innings.
Cardinal pitching struggled with the free pass, issuing eight in the loss.
Freshman Matt Scott got the start and went 4 1/3 innings, allowing two runs on three hits and five walks. Scott had walked just eight batters in his first 24 2/3 innings this year.
Troy's two extra base hits were the highlight of a 3-for-4 day, and included a double, a home run, a walk and an RBI. Rios made his contribution with a double, a home run and two RBI, part of a 2-for-4 performance at the plate. Junior Carter Graham also chipped in for the Cardinal, putting together two hits in five trips to the plate.
Trailing 1-0, the Cardinal got back even in the third inning on an RBI-single from sophomore Braden Montgomery, scoring Troy from third base.
The Sooners broke the tie and re-took the lead heading into the fifth inning, when the Cardinal got back on the scoreboard. Stanford picked up a run on Troy's two-out solo home run, his third of the year, off of junior James Hitt, which evened the score at 2-2.
Oklahoma broke that tie and grabbed a 4-2 lead heading into the seventh, but Stanford once again responded - this time scoring twice to knot the game at 4-4. The big blow came from Rios, as he connected for a solo homer - his sixth round-tripper of the year.
The back-and-forth battle continued from there, as Oklahoma took a 6-4 lead with a pair of runs in the seventh. Rios was again there to respond, lacing an RBI-double down the line in the eighth to cut the lead to 6-5.
Trailing by a run headed into the ninth, Stanford managed to put two runners aboard with two outs, but Montgomery was retired to end the game.
UP NEXT
Stanford will look to earn a split of the four-game series on Sunday when the two team conclude the set at 11 a.m. PT.
GAME NOTES
» Stanford got multiple extra-base hits from both Rios and Troy.
» The Cardinal out-hit the Sooners at a 10-9 clip.
» Stanford pitchers faced 41 Oklahoma hitters in the game, allowing nine ground balls and eight fly balls while striking out seven.
» Oklahoma was led offensively by junior Kendall Pettis, who went 1-for-2 with a home run and two RBI.
» Junior Carter Campbell led the Sooners pitching staff, throwing 1.1 innings of one-run ball to earn the victory and move to 3-2.
» Aaron Weber was credited with his fifth save of the year after contributing 1 2/3 scoreless innings of work.
