The year was 1998. The film Titanic took home 11 Oscars including Best Picture, the Belfast Agreement ended strife in Northern Ireland once and for all, and President Clinton learned about the undeniable significance of dry cleaning. And it was that year that Oklahoma baseball swept a struggling Texas baseball squad in Norman. That was the last time Oklahoma beat Texas in a three game series in baseball.
The Sooners started this year 16-0 and rose to #3 in the nation. Then they started playing real teams and it's been downhill ever since. On Saturday, the Sooners jumped on Cole Green quickly, scoring three runs in the top of the 2nd to grab a 3-0 lead. Erich Weiss hit his (sigh) team leading third home run of the year, and Texas scored three more on five hits and a walk in the bottom of the 3rd. Green settled down after that, going six innings and giving up three hits, runs and walks while striking out six. Hoby Milner pitched two solid innings of relief and Corey Knebel overcame some wildness for his 14th save, tying Huston Street's freshman record.
Throw in the Ags getting crushed 9-1 by Big XII bottom feeder Missouri and it's already been a pretty great weekend for Texas baseball. Texas now has a one game lead in the conference with both teams having one remaining conference series against Nebraska before what's looking like the deciding series at the end of the season. A&M is a miserable 7-8 over their last 15 games albeit against a pretty rough schedule.
The Horns go for their third consecutive sweep of Oklahoma on Sunday. TBA will be on the mound for both sides. Today's game will be on television (ESPNU), first pitch at 1 PM.