Sooners make it a sweep

By John Shinn
The Norman Transcript

February 26, 2007 01:14 am

— The top of the batting order is usually reserved for baseball’s little guys. They’re the ones who can slap the ball around and scratch and claw their way on base.
OU outfielder Joe Dunigan can do those things. That’s why he was hitting second in the Sooners’ lineup during their three-game series against Western Illinois this weekend.
“I thought it was funny at first,” the 6-foot-3, 247-pound junior said. “That’s a pretty big two-hole hitter.”
Dunigan responded with a pretty salty weekend, including a 2-for-3 performance with a home run and two RBIs in the Sooners’ 7-6 victory over the Leathernecks Sunday at L. Dale Mitchell Park.
The victory gave OU a three-game sweep over Western Illinois and lifted the Sooners to 5-4 on the season.
Dunigan was a big reason why.
He went 5-for-12 in the series and gave the Sooners a brief 5-4 lead with solo home run in the bottom of the seventh inning Sunday.
“He’s seeing the ball a lot better and he’s becoming what we thought he could be,” OU coach Sunny Golloway said. “He’s going to be an offensive leader for us.”
For the second straight day, what OU did at the plate was the difference.
OU banged out nine hits against a trio of Western Illinois pitchers. The game-winning run, however, came without the benefit of a hit.
Joseph Hughes scored the deciding run on a dropped fly ball by Leatherneck center fielder Travis Check.
The unearned run prevented the Sooners from suffering a crushing loss.
They led 4-0 after five innings and Brad Burns cruised along until hitting a wall in the sixth.
The Leathernecks sent Burns to the dugout with four runs in the sixth.
Dunigan’s homer in the bottom of the seventh inning and Vinny Biancamano’s RBI single in the eighth put OU up 6-4, but the Leathernecks tagged freshman closer Garrett Richards with two runs in the ninth.
Parks’ error, Western Illinois’ only one of the day, allowed the Sooners to pick up their third straight victory.
Nich Conaway (2-0), who killed the Leathernecks’ rally in the ninth, picked up the win.
Todd Nelson (1-1) took the loss.
“It was nice to see our guys come back for the win today after losing the lead in the ninth,” Golloway said. “This is a talented group of athletes and we continue to get better with each game.”
They’ll find out how much better at 5 p.m. Wednesday when Wichita State visits L. Dale Mitchell Park.
John Shinn366-3536jshinn@normantranscript.com