For the second straight game, Kansas University’s baseball team was in prime position to rally for a victory against Oklahoma.

But, once again, the Jayhawks failed to make key plays and get timely hits.

The result Sunday was KU’s third straight loss to the Sooners, this time a 5-2 defeat, and fifth loss in the last six games.

“One of the things that (OU coach Larry) Cochell told me before the ballgame was, depending on how the outcome of this game was, he thinks we’ve got one of the five best clubs in the conference if we keep playing,” KU coach Ritch Price said.

Getting swept puts Kansas a long way from the Big 12 Conference’s upper echelon, however. The Jayhawks (22-14-1 overall, 1-5 Big 12) are in 10th place in the league. Meanwhile, the Sooners (19-10, 7-2) took over first place.

Fortunately for Kansas, its five Big 12 losses have come against some of the league’s best teams. KU opened league play with three-game series against three of the top four teams in the league, so any win during that stretch would be a good win.

Next, KU has a brief break from rugged conference play with an equally difficult nonconference game against No. 14 Wichita State at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Hoglund Ballpark.

“We’re in the midst of 10 games against people that are all ranked in the top 20 in the country with Wichita thrown in,” Price said. “If we keep playing through it, and we take care of ourselves, we’ll be fine, but it’s going to take maturity on our club’s part.”

KU didn’t show much maturity against the Sooners. Each game featured a mistake by a Kansas pitcher which led to an Oklahoma run. Friday it was Ryan Knippschild’s fielding error. Saturday it was Clint Schambach’s wild throw to third base that led to two OU scores.

Sunday, it was starter Mike Zagurski’s balk and subsequent wild pitch that first allowed the Sooners to score in the third inning.

Kansas University shortstop Ritchie Price tosses to second baseman Jared Schweitzer (7) to force out Oklahoma's Matt Bose. The Jayhawks lost to the Sooners, 5-2, Sunday afternoon at Hoglund Park.

“Right now, we’re struggling at getting that part done,” Price said of his pitchers’ mental focus.

Ryan Rohlinger’s leadoff double, followed by Matt Bose’s one-run single, pushed the OU advantage to 2-0 in the fourth.

The Sooners added three more runs in the top of the sixth before KU scored.

While the Jayhawks made some defensive mistakes, their offense didn’t provide much support either. Oklahoma starter David Purcey threw brilliantly for 61/3 innings. Kansas managed just five hits and scored just once against the 6-foot-5 lefty.

“OU has one of the best pitching staffs in the conference, and they showed it,” KU senior first baseman Ryan Baty said. “They were outstanding the entire weekend.”

J.C. Sibley walked and later scored on Sean Richardson’s bloop single to shallow right field in the bottom of the sixth. Just as Kansas seemed to be building momentum, the offense again stalled when Matt Tribble struck out and stranded two base-runners. The Jayhawks stranded two more runners each in the seventh and eighth innings.

Mike Dudley’s solo home run to center field with two outs in the ninth inning pulled KU within 5-2, but A.J. Van Slyke grounded out to short to end the game.

Kansas University junior Mike Zagurski prepares to pitch against Oklahoma. He suffered the loss Sunday afternoon at Hoglund Ballpark as the Jayhawks dropped their series finale with the Sooners, 5-2.

Baty said the sweep and four-game losing skid stung, but he said the Jayhawks weren’t losing confidence because of their recent struggles.

“There’s too much senior leadership on this team to really let the other guys get down,” he said. “We’re going to fight back, and we’re just getting rolling in this conference.

“If we execute our plan, we’re usually in good shape. We did play catch-up most of the weekend, but that’s a credit to what they did in their dugout and not necessarily in what we didn’t do.”