Oklahoma took a two-run lead into the bottom of the ninth but could not hold on in a gut-wrenching 10-9 defeat against No. 6 seed Texas Tech in Arlington on Thursday. The Sooners are on the NCAA Tournament bubble and were a virtual lock for the tournament with a victory against the Red Raiders.

Oklahoma (31-25) pushed a run across in the first inning. John Spikerman singled to lead off the game but was later thrown out trying to steal home on a passed ball. Anthony MacKenzie drew a bases-loaded walk with one out to get the Sooners on the board before Easton Carmichael hit into a double play to end the threat.

Kendall Pettis reached on a low line drive with two outs that skipped past the third baseman and allowed Jackson Nicklaus and Wallace Clark to score from second and third to put the Sooners ahead 3-0. Although it was officially recorded as an error — the Chicago native gave the Sooners a lot of early momentum.

Speaking of momentum, the Sooners extended their lead to 5-0 with another two-spot in the fourth inning on a fierce two-out rally. Nicklaus reached on an infield single before Spikerman and Pettis drew back-to-back walks to load the bases. Nicklaus and Spikerman came around to score as Madron legged out an infield single to give the Sooners a five-run lead.

Texas Tech (39-19) stormed back with four runs in the fourth inning thanks to a pair of errors by Nicklaus at second base. The Red Raiders plated a run on an error by Nicklaus before reeling off back-to-back-to-back RBI singles to trim the deficit to 5-4. All four runs scored in the inning were unearned.

LHP Braden Carmichael got the start and pitched 5.0 innings and allowed one earned run. The southpaw worked around nine hits and likely would have exited the game with larger than a 5-4 lead without the miscues by Nicklaus.

Oklahoma tacked on three more runs in the sixth inning. Spikerman, Pettis, and Madron drew back-to-back-to-back walks to load the bases with no outs. Spikerman scored on a wild pitch and Pettis scored on a beautiful safety squeeze by Dakota Harris. MacKenzie laced a single to left field, later on, to score Madron from third and give the Sooners a 9-5 lead.

RHP Carson Pierce entered in the sixth inning in relief of Carmichael looking to preserve a 9-5 lead. The Cowley College allowed a hit and two walks and worked out of a bases-loaded jam and tacked on a strikeout.

RHP Will Carsten entered in the seventh inning and pitched 1.1 innings in relief of Pierce. The McLennan College transfer allowed a two-run homer with two outs in the seventh inning to cut the lead to 9-7 Sooners.

RHP Braxton Douthit (4-6) entered in the eighth inning and froze a hitter on a nasty breaking ball to end the inning before a nightmare ninth inning. The Lamar transfer had Texas Tech on the ropes with runners at first and second with two outs and a 9-7 lead. However, the Red Raiders rattled off four-straight singles to stun the Sooners and take the game by a 10-9 final tally.

Skip Johnson and the Sooners were a virtual lock to make the NCAA Tournament with a win over Texas Tech on Thursday. Oklahoma will now face bitter in-state rival No. 18 Oklahoma State for a sixth time on Friday at 6:30 PM with its season on the line. The Sooners will be completely at the mercy of the committee on Selection Monday if they fail to defeat the Pokes on Friday.