NORMAN, Okla. — WVU was looking for a fresh start. After an up and down beginning to the season, the Mountaineers were looking to find their stride with the start of Big 12 Conference play.
Unfortunately for the Mountaineers, they met up with a squad March 24 that didn’t care. In both teams’ Big 12 opener, Oklahoma rolled past WVU, 19-6, at L. Dale Mitchell Park.
The 13-run defeat was the worst loss for the Mountaineers this season. The next biggest was a pair of eight-run defeats to Tennessee Tech.
The Mountaineers (9-10) will get two more chances to get some revenge on the Sooners (15-9). With bad weather expected Sunday, the teams will play a doubleheader today, at 5 and 8:30 p.m.
WVU found itself in trouble as soon as the game started. Pitcher B.J. Myers put two runners on base in the bottom of the first with no outs. Steele Walker then drilled a single to center field to knock in the game’s first run.
Oklahoma sophomore Kyler Murray came to bat next. The center fielder, who is also a quarterback for the O.U. football team, smashed a double to the left field wall to give the Sooners a 3-0 lead with still no outs registered.
Myers settled down and was able to get out of the inning without allowing any more damage.
However, the Mountaineers were once again in trouble in the bottom of the third inning. The Sooners had the bases loaded with Brylie Ware at the plate. The junior laced a hit deep into center field just out of the reach of Brandon White to allow three runs to score for Oklahoma.
Kyle Mendenhall added an RBI single and the Sooners led, 7-0, with only one out on the board and Myers still in the game.
Myers was pulled in the bottom of the fourth and relieved by Riley Trout. That didn’t make much of a difference to Oklahoma as Mendenhall added an RBI to his night to put the Sooners up, 8-0.
While the WVU pitching staff struggled, its offense wasn’t much better. O.U. hurler Jake Irvin had complete control of the Mountaineers’ lineup. He allowed only one hit through five innings.
The Mountaineers came in as the top power hitting team in the Big 12, but they were unable to figure out Irvin.
Oklahoma started to shut the door in the bottom of the fifth inning when it tacked on four more, pushing the advantage to 12-0.
Irvin started to show he was human in the top of the sixth inning, when White scored an unearned run.
WVU’s Marques Inman tagged a double into right field that plated two runs and Kevin Brophy added an RBI single that cut the deficit to 12-4.
With a long day ahead of them today, both teams began to empty their benches and rest their starters the rest of the night.
But that didn’t keep Oklahoma from attacking at the plate. The Sooners added six more runs to put the game away.
