But it was not to be, as the TCU Horned Frogs rallied from a 3-1 deficit in the eighth inning to walk off with a 4-3 victory Tuesday night in Fort Worth.
TCU scored on a bases-loaded walk and double play the next batter, which tied the game in the eighth.
Then, pinch hitter Derek Odell singled home right fielder Brance Rivera with two outs in the bottom of the ninth to win it.
It all could have been avoided, though, had OU taken advantage of all its opportunities.
The Sooners left runners at third in the third, sixth, seventh and eighth innings, or they could have padded their lead.
"I thought we played well at times and really it comes down to stranding runners at third," said OU head coach Sunny Golloway. "They have a good team and they are going to be tough at home. In the past, we've won these games. We won eight straight against them. We won a lot of tight games."
Not this one, however, despite six strong innings from starter Dillon Overton, who tossed seven strikeouts to one walk.
After Damien Magnifico allowed a couple of earned runs in an inning-plus, closer Steven Okert surrendered the game-winning run and loss in the ninth.
Third baseman Max White, who shifted in from the outfield in this contest, had his eight-game mutli-hit streak snapped.
Still, White ripped a two-run triple in the fourth to give OU a 2-1 lead after trailing by one early.
Right fielder Cody Reine gave the Sooners a two-run lead when he hit a sacrifice fly moments later.
But the OU offense sputtered the rest of the way, although there were some defensive highlights.
"Some of our guys played terrific," Golloway said. I thought Woody [Erik Ross] played great, throwing out a guy at third. I thought Dillon pitched terrific and Dylan Neal caught well. it's a little bit of everything when you look at the losing side of it. It's not one guy; it's a lot of things."
The Sooners will try to get back on the right track with those things when they open up the Bedlam Series against Oklahoma State at 7 p.m. Friday in Tulsa.
"What I talked to the team about is that we are wound too tight right now, because we realize we are a bubble team for the NCAA," Golloway said. "Oklahoma is not used to being in that position but we need to learn to fight in this position.
OSU won the first meeting between the two, a 6-1 non-conference decision in Stillwater just more than a week ago.
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