Sooners’ rally falls short as OU falls to Clemson

By Tobi Neidy

A pair of solo home runs by Cameron Seitzer and Tyler Ogle weren’t enough to lift the Sooners past Clemson on Wednesday afternoon as the Tigers held on for a 6-4 win in the College World Series in Omaha, Neb.

Ogle also hit an RBI double in the ninth to score Chris Ellison from second base as the Sooners scored runs in the last three at-bats of the three remaining innings.

The game, originally scheduled for Tuesday evening, was postponed before the start of the sixth inning due to inclement weather.

A comeback was necessary if the Sooners wanted to take the easier route in the winner’s bracket for the 2010 tournament. But more than half of OU’s wins have been come-from-behind victories during this season.

After falling behind 6-1 to the Tigers before the weather stopped play Tuesday evening, OU needed another come-from-behind victory to receive a day of rest and stay in the winner’s bracket for the tournament.

Will Lamb entered the game to replace Scott Weismann on the mound for Clemson. Weismann finished the first five innings on Tuesday, allowing only one run, three hits and striking out four batters.

Lamb came into the game with a 4.93 ERA through 49.1 innings pitched. The left-hander had allowed 27 earned runs, while walking 23 batters and striking out 25 on the season.

J.R. Robinson continued on the mound for the Sooners after coming in Tuesday night during the fourth inning.

The two teams played tight during the sixth inning before Seitzer led off the seventh inning with a home run on a 3-1 pitch over the right center-field fence. It was Seitzer’s 16th home run on the season, cutting the Tigers’ lead to 6-2.

OU continued to chip away at the Clemson lead with a solo home run down the right field line by Ogle, bringing the score to 6-3 in the top of the third inning.

The Sooners had an opportunity to tack on more runs in the top of the eighth. With two outs and Caleb Bushyhead on first base, Danny Black doubled to put two runners in scoring position with the tying run coming to the plate in Seitzer.

On a 3-2 pitch, Seitzer who homered in the seventh, walked to load the bases for Casey Johnson, a pinch hitter for Ricky Eisenberg. But Johnson hit a pop-up fly to the short stop to end the inning.

With one more at-bat left in the game, the Sooners had the top of the lineup due up to the plate. Ellison led off the inning on a 3-2 pitch with a single to left field.

Following the lead-off single, Max White grounded out to third to advance Ellison to second base.

Ogle hit an RBI double to right center to score Ellison, bringing the score to 6-4 with two outs remaining in the top of the ninth.

Cody Reine would end the game on a flyout to left field after the Sooners rally fell short and Clemson claimed the 6-4 victory.

The Sooners return to face South Carolina in an elimination game at 6 p.m. Thursday.

The Sooners defeated South Carolina in its first game of the College World Series on Sunday by a score of 4-3. The winner of Thursday’s game will face Clemson at 8 p.m. Friday.

Read more here: http://oudaily.com/news/2010/jun/24/baseball-sooners-rally-falls-short-ou-falls-clemso/
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