Oklahoma
Oklahoma Drops Second Consecutive Conference Series in a Tight Battle with the Tide
NORMAN — From the first to the beginning of the bottom of the fifth, Alabama pitchers retired 13 of 17 Oklahoma batters, with only one Sooner reaching at least second. As the opportunities went by, OU’s first inning blunder loomed larger and larger.
Despite forcing a decisive game for Saturday, Oklahoma could not overcome one bad inning and squandered opportunities, losing 3-2 and the series to the Crimson Tide. It’s OU’s second conference series loss in the last two weeks after winning their first two against Texas A&M and LSU.
The left-hander Trent Collier (1.93 ERA) got the call to start in Saturday afternoon’s rubber game for No. 11 Oklahoma against No. 16 Alabama. They typical day three starter Cord Rager sat out, dealing with lat tenderness — Skip Johnson said the freshman’s future wasn’t worth the risk of playing him.
Oklahoma (21-10) and Collier started off with turbulence. An ill-timed shift led to a base hit. That was followed by another base hit. A walk loaded the bases. Then two back-to-back pitches resulted in a wild pitch and a passed ball to allow Alabama (25-8) two runs.
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Eric Hines cracked a shot to deep center that Jason Walk lost in the sun, resulting in an error and the Tide’s third run.
But Oklahoma bounced back when they had their chance. Where base-running aggression bit them last week in Austin, it earned the Sooners their first run of the game when Trey Gambill beat the tag at the plate after a Brenden Brock base hit.
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“I thought we gave that game away for sure,” Johnson said afterwards. “We’ve got to keep the ball in front of us. We’ve got to play fundamental baseball. We beat ourselves in that inning.”
It took almost two hours for the OU to find an offensive spark against the pesky Alabama. They found it in an unorthodox way.
Down 3-1 with two outs and bases loaded in the fifth, Kyle Branch singled up the middle where second basemen Brennan Holt attempted to throw out Deiten LaChance for the third and final out. LaChance beat the force out, running a few feet passed the bag — allowing Drew Dickerson to score.
But LaChance wasn’t done trying to add another run. After beating the tag, he rounded towards third to buy time for Alec Blair to reach home. Alabama short stop Justin LeBron applied the tag to LaChance but not before Blair appeared to score to tie the game.
A review would show that Blair didn’t reach in time, leaving the Sooners still behind at 3-2.
OU would continue to have chances in the final three innings. Solid performances from their bullpen allowed minimal damage at the plate from Alabama. But the Soners had trouble making the most of any opportunity after a batter reached a base.
Oklahoma’s inability to do much damage at the plate counter balanced their superb pitching performances on the day.
“Early in the year, we’re getting two-out hits,” Johnson said. “Now, we haven’t got a two-out hit in a while. So, that goes back to having confidence, that goes back to trying too hard. You’ve got to deal with it and keep playing.”
The Sooners will head back on the road for a Monday clash against Dallas Baptist at 6:30 p.m. Afterwards, OU will take on Vanderbilt in Nashville for a weekend series beginning Thursday, April 9 at 6 p.m.
GUYMON, Okla. (KSNW) – Fire crews were busy Monday battling an apartment fire in Guymon, Oklahoma.
It happened at the Apache Trace Apartments on East 5th South Street and Morgan Avenue, according to Texas County Emergency Management.
There is no word on exactly how much damage the fire caused, but the sheriff’s office confirms that people living in the apartment were displaced.
Texas County crews worked the scene overnight and will provide an update later this morning.
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Oklahoma
Oklahoma City police officers placed on leave over April Fools’ Day 911 call to dispatchers
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The Oklahoma City Police Department has placed officers on leave after reports of an April Fools’ Day prank that sent squad cars in pursuit of a baby being thrown out of a car before the call was revealed as a hoax.
Oklahoma City Police Capt. Valerie Littlejohn confirmed Monday that an internal investigation was ongoing but would not say how many officers were placed on administrative leave or provide details of the accusations.
“We are aware of a reported pursuit involving some of our officers that included serious claims, which has since been determined to be false,” Littlejohn said in a statement. “We take this situation seriously and are committed to ensuring a thorough review is conducted.”
The investigation followed published police radio audio from the night of April 1, reported by Oklahoma City television station KFOR and other stations, in which a dispatcher says that the “city just advised that the suspect threw a baby out the window.”
“The police officer that’s in pursuit does not have a radio. He’s just messaging his location,” the dispatcher says.
After a number of officers responded to the report, a dispatcher can later be heard saying: “It was an April Fools’ prank.”
Another dispatcher says: “Not funny.”
A message left Monday with the president of Oklahoma City police union president seeking comment on the incident was not immediately returned.
Oklahoma law makes it misdemeanor crime to report “knowingly false information which could result in the dispatch of emergency services from any public agency.” Punishment is a fine of up to $500 and an assessment for any costs associated with dispatching emergency personnel.
Oklahoma City Thunder (62-16, first in the Western Conference) vs. Los Angeles Lakers (50-28, third in the Western Conference)
Los Angeles; Tuesday, 10:30 p.m. EDT
BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Thunder -13; over/under is 226.5
BOTTOM LINE: Los Angeles will try to keep its 10-game home win streak alive when the Lakers take on Oklahoma City.
The Lakers are 30-18 in conference matchups. Los Angeles ranks ninth in the Western Conference with 31.6 defensive rebounds per game led by Luka Doncic averaging 7.1.
The Thunder are 39-9 in Western Conference play. Oklahoma City averages 12.0 turnovers per game and is 50-10 when winning the turnover battle.
The Lakers make 50.1% of their shots from the field this season, which is 6.7 percentage points higher than the Thunder have allowed to their opponents (43.4%). The Thunder average 119.2 points per game, 3.9 more than the 115.3 the Lakers allow to opponents.
The two teams match up for the fourth time this season. The Thunder defeated the Lakers 139-96 in their last matchup on April 3. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder with 28 points, and Austin Reaves led the Lakers with 15 points.
TOP PERFORMERS: LeBron James is scoring 20.8 points per game with 6.1 rebounds and 7.1 assists for the Lakers. Jaxson Hayes is averaging 11.5 points and 5.1 rebounds while shooting 79.2% over the past 10 games.
Chet Holmgren is scoring 17.0 points per game and averaging 8.8 rebounds for the Thunder. Isaiah Joe is averaging 2.5 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Lakers: 7-3, averaging 119.7 points, 42.2 rebounds, 25.8 assists, 8.5 steals and 5.3 blocks per game while shooting 52.1% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 117.5 points per game.
Thunder: 9-1, averaging 123.9 points, 47.1 rebounds, 26.5 assists, 9.1 steals and 5.5 blocks per game while shooting 50.6% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 106.3 points.
INJURIES: Lakers: Austin Reaves: out (rib), Marcus Smart: out (ankle), Luka Doncic: out (hamstring).
Thunder: Alex Caruso: day to day (illness), Luguentz Dort: day to day (undisclosed), Thomas Sorber: out for season (knee).
___
The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
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