Tennessee downs Oklahoma 8-0 at Minute Maid Park

Story and photo by Robert H Kelly
Copyright 2022 All Rights Reserved

HOUSTON, TEXAS (March 6, 2022) Number six ranked Tennessee completed their three-game series at the Shirners Children's College Classic  inside Minute Maid Park in Houston with an 8-0 win over Oklahoma. The Voluneers (10-1) went 2-1 in the tournament, dropping their first game of the season by the score of 7-2 to the No. 1 Texas Longhorns on Friday evening (March 4). On Saturday, they downed the Baylor Bears by the score of 10-5.

Tennessee was paced by designated hitter Christian Moore, who was 3-for-4 at the plate, with two runs and three RBI. He was assisted by left fielder Seth Stephenson, who went 2-for-2 with one RBI. For the Sooners, center fielder Tanner Tredaway tallied two hits from four at bats. 

The Volunteers used five pitchers in the victory, with starter Drew Beam getting the win. He completed five innings while giving up only two hits in facing 17 batters. The win pushed his season record to 2-0.

Starting pitcher Chazz Martinez receive the loss for the Sooners, with 3.2 innings of work. He gave up five runs, all of them earned, on five hits while facing 20 batters.

Next on tap for the Volunteers with be a Tuesday, March 8 matchup against James Madison. Oklahoma, who went 0-3 at Minute Maid Park, will face Dallas Baptist on Tuesday.

The box score from the game can be accessed by clicking here.

Houston Knocks Off Oklahoma in Season Opener

Photo courtesy of Oklahoma Athletics

Onyeje paces the Cougars with 23 points

HOUSTON, TEXAS (November 25. 2020) The University of Houston Women’s Basketball team opened its season with an 97-85 win over Big 12 foe Oklahoma on Wednesday afternoon at the Lloyd Noble Center.

 

Four Cougars turned in double-figure scoring efforts led by redshirt sophomore, Britney Onyeje with a team-high 23 points in her collegiate debut. Julia Blackshell-Fair nearly had a double-double with 16 points and nine rebounds, as Dymond Gladney (shown right) led UH in assists with seven.

 

Houston shot 43.6 percent from the field, including 31.1 percent from three-point range.

 

Oklahoma’s Madi Williams led all scorers with 25 points, as Mandy Simpson posted a double-double with 11 points and 13 rebounds.

 

Houston set the the tone early via a 7-2 scoring run in the first two minutes of the game. Julia Blackshell-Fair scored the first Cougar basket of the 2020-21 season, driving through the lane after gaining control of the jump ball. Sharpshooting and tough defense helped Oklahoma even things up at the halfway point of the frame, 11-11. Both teams went back-and-forth for the remainder of the first quarter before a timely three-point basket from junior Ca’Leyah Burrell gave Houston a one-point advantage at the quarter break.

 

Leading 26-25, Houston turned things up defensively in the second quarter and ultimately outscored Oklahoma 20-19. Blackshell-Fair remained poised, but aggressive earning three trips to the free throw line where she knocked down 5-of-6 free throw attempts. UH forced four OU turnovers, outscoring the Sooners 7-3 off turnovers to close out the frame. As time dwindled down, Houston redshirt senior Eryka Sidney dribbled to the top of the key where she sank a jump shot with only second left on the clock to give UH a 46-44 lead at the half.

 

The third quarter would be the turning point for the Cougars as Houston outscored Oklahoma 27-17. UH got going from behind the three-point line, knocking down four of its seven attempts. Onyeje paced the Cougars, scoring 13 of her 23 points during the third quarter, including three made three-pointers. Houston held Oklahoma to 16.7 percent shooting from three-point range, outscoring OU 6-0 in transition.

 

The Houston defense kept things tight as time winded down, forcing six fourth quarter turnovers. Fouls plagued the Cougars as Oklahoma managed to chip away at UH’s lead with help from trips to the free throw line. Freshman, Laila Blair had the hot hand in the fourth quarter, scoring seven of Houston’s 24 fourth quarter points. The Cougars held on, late ultimately picking up its second straight win over the Sooners.

     

Houston will head to Tuscaloose to face Alabama on Nov. 29. Tip-off is slated for 2 p.m.

Oklahoma Sooners HC Bob Stoops: Post game press conference after Advocare Texas Kickoff

Houston Cougars Men’s Basketball Back in Action after Break

Cougars set to meet Oklahoma at 7 p.m., Saturday, at Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City

HOUSTON, TEXAS (December 16, 2011) After more than 10 days off from competition, the University of Houston men’s basketball team returns to action at 7 p.m., Saturday, when it meets Oklahoma inside Chesapeake Energy Arena.

Between the Cougars’ final examinations and a request from UTSA administrators to postpone a game earlier this month, Houston has not seen action since a tough 81-78 loss at Texas State on Dec. 6. It was the Cougars’ fourth loss this season by a combined seven points.

Against the Bobcats, junior guard junior guard Jonathon Simmons posted a career-high points total and freshman forward TaShawn Thomas finished with a double-double – each for the second straight game – to lead the Cougars.

The Cougars trailed by as many as 23 points in the second half before chipping away at the deficit. Houston moved to within two points with just more than a remaining but was unable to tie the score.

Sophomore forward Alandise Harris and freshman point guard J.J. Thompson each posted 11 points for the Cougars.

This season, Harris leads the Cougars and ranks fourth in Conference USA with 16.0 points per game. Simmons is averaging 24.0 points in Houston’s last two games and moved into second among the Cougars with 13.6 points per contest. Junior forward Kirk Van Slyke stands third with 11.6 points per, game, while Thomas ranks fourth with 10.4 points per game and a team-high 8.8 rebounds per contest.

Houston is no stranger to the RAMADA All-College Classic. The Cougars are 9-6 all-time at this event, and the 2011 appearance will be the sixth time that the Cougars have competed here.

However, this is the first time since Dec. 27-29, 1973, that the Cougars will take part in this tournament. It also will be the first time that the Cougars have faced Oklahoma at this event.

The Cougars went 1-2 in their first appearance at the RAMADA All-College Classic and followed that with 2-1 showings in 1960, 1961, 1963 and 1974.

Saturday’s game will be the third meeting in the all-time series against the Sooners with the previous games being played during regular-season tournament play.

Despite its brief history, the series has been a tight one with no game being decided by more than seven points.

This will be the second time in the last three years that the Cougars will face Oklahoma on the hardwood. In the last meeting, the Cougars took a 100-93 win during the Carrs/Safeway Great Alaska Shootout on Nov. 26, 2009, in Anchorage, Alaska.

In the only other meeting, Oklahoma snared a 55-51 win on Dec. 15, 1960, during the Cougars’ own Lion’s Club Tournament at Sam Houston Coliseum in Houston.

Oklahoma brings a 7-1 overall record into this weekend’s game. The Sooners have won their last three games.. The Sooners have won handily in 2011-12, winning by an average of 15.1 points per game.

In their most recent win, Oklahoma took a 78-63 win against Arkansas on Dec. 10 in Norman, Okla. Against the Razorbacks, the Sooners raced out to a 12-point halftime lead. Steven Pledger led OU with 22 points, while forward Andrew Fitzgerald added 17 points and a team-high eight rebounds. Tyler Neal came off the bench to post 18 points and five boards, and Romero Osby totaled 10 points and seven rebounds in the win.

This season, Pledger leads the Sooners with 17.9 points per game, while Calvin Newell ranks second with 13.0 points per contest. Andrew Fitzgerald stands third at 11.0 ppg, and Osby ranks fourth with 10.6 points per game but averages a team-high 7.5 rebounds per contest.

Head coach Lon Kruger is in his first year at Oklahoma and has posted a 7-1 record. He is in his 26th year overall as a head coach and has posted a 486-305 record during that time.

Kruger previously served as head coach at UT Pan American (1982-86), Kansas State (1986-90), Florida (1990-96), Illinois (1996-00), with the Atlanta Hawks (2000-03) and UNLV (2004-11). He is 2-0 against the Cougars during his career with both wins coming during his tenure at UNLV.

Baylor Baseball Bests OU 7-3

NORMAN, OKLAHOMA (March 30, 2008) Dustin Dickerson's one-out RBI single in the top of the seventh broke a 2-2 tie, and No. 20 Baylor never trailed again as the Bears defeated Oklahoma 7-3 in Sunday's Big 12 Conference series finale at L. Dale Mitchell Park. Baylor (16-9, 3-6) snapped a five-game Big 12 losing streak with the win, also snapping a seven-game losing streak in conference road games that dated back to last season.

Baylor, which lost the first two games of the series 11-2 and 3-2 in 10 innings, respectively, successfully staved off a sweep on the road in Big 12 play since April 28, 2002, at Kansas State. The Bears also snapped a seven-game road losing streak with the win.

While Dickerson's RBI single gave the Bears a lead they never relinquished, it was three Baylor home runs in the final two innings that proved detrimental for Oklahoma (20-8-1, 2-3-1).

Raynor Campbell's two-out, two-run shot in the eighth pushed the Bears' lead to 5-2. After the Sooners got a run in the bottom of the eighth, Aaron Miller and Landis Ware led off the top of the ninth with consecutive homers to push Baylor's lead back to four runs.

Matt Harughty led off the ninth with a single for Oklahoma; however, Tim Matthews got Spencer Selby to foul out and Jarod Freeman to ground into a game-ending double play.

Willie Kempf (4-1) earned the win for the Bears; he allowed two runs on five hits and three walks with three strikeouts in 7.0-plus innings, facing one batter in the eighth. Matthews allowed one run on three hits with one strikeout over 2.0 innings for his first save of the season.

Ryan Duke (4-3), the first of three relievers on the day for Oklahoma, took the loss; he allowed one run on two hits and two walks with two strikeouts over 1.1 innings. Starter Michael Rocha surrendered a pair of runs on seven hits and a walk with seven strikeouts over 5.0-plus innings, facing one batter in the sixth.

Oklahoma's Mike Gosse led off the bottom of the first with a double and later scored on Jamie Johnson's two-out RBI single. Baylor tied the game at 1-1 in the third on Shaver Hansen's one-out RBI single, and Miller's one-out solo homer in the fourth gave the Bears a 2-1 lead. It was the third multiple-homer game of Miller's season and the fourth of his career.

Baylor's lead did not last long, though, as J.T. Wise led off the bottom of the fourth with a home run to left-center. Kempf surrendered a single to Johnson on the next pitch but did not allow another hit the rest of the day.

Campbell, Dickerson, Miller and Jon Ringenberg all turned in two-hit days; it was Ringenberg's first career start. Beamer Weems went 3-for-5 with two runs scored; Weems, normally a switch-hitter, batted from the right side of the plate against right-handed pitching for the first time in his career.

Baylor returns to action Tuesday, April 1, traveling to Fort Worth, Texas, for a midweek game at TCU. First pitch between the Bears and the Horned Frogs is scheduled for 7 p.m. CDT at Lupton Stadium. The game will be televised nationally on CBS College Sports.

2008 Houston College Classic-Day 2 Action

By Robert H. Kelly
Copyright 2008 TexSport Publications

Day 2 action at the 2008 Houston College Classic at Minute Maid Park saw the Oklahoma Sooners facing the Houston Cougars, the Texas Tech Red raiders facing the Volunteers of Tennessee and the Rice Owls squaring off against the Texas Longhorns.

In game one on Saturday, sophomore Spencer Selby drove a three-run home run over the left-field fence in the top of the tenth inning to give the Sooners’ (4-2) an 8-5 win over Houston (4-3). Click here for the recap on Oklahoma and here for the Houston recap

In game two, Nate Karns logged five strong innings while Joey Kenworthy and Taylor Ashby added two RBIs each to lead Texas Tech to a 7-3 win over Tennessee. Click here for the Texas Tech recap and here for the Tennessee version.

In the nightcap, the sixth-ranked Rice baseball team exploded for 10 runs on 15 hits, including three home runs, on the way to a 10-4 victory over fourth-ranked Texas. Click here for the Rice recap and here for the Texas recap.

Action continues on Sunday with Oklahoma facing Tennessee at 11:00 am, Texas Tech and Rice at 2:30 pm and Houston meeting Texas at 6:00 pm.