Maybe the rain was a blessing in disguise.

The Kansas University baseball squad might benefit from a good night’s sleep after an emotionally draining 11-9 loss to No. 7 Oklahoma on Saturday at Hoglund Ballpark.

Though the teams were scheduled to play a doubleheader, the nightcap was suspended after the first inning because of rain with OU leading, 1-0. The game will resume at noon today, with a second game following immediately after.

“I’m pretty sure we’re going to come back (today) like we have been all year,” Kansas right fielder Gus Milner said. “We always try to win the big-time games.”

KU tried its hardest Saturday, overcoming an 8-0 deficit in the fifth inning to send the game into extra innings.

It would not be enough, however, as Oklahoma’s Kevin Smith and Jackson Williams contributed solo home runs in the 10th against KU relief pitcher Paul Smyth.

KU starter Sean Land lasted just 31â3 innings after allowing seven earned runs.

“That was about as poorly as we’ve pitched all year,” KU coach Ritch Price said. “That didn’t give us much of a chance to stay in the game early.”

The Jayhawks still managed to make it a game. Freshman first baseman Preston Land led the charge, delivering a solo home run in the seventh and nearly tying it in the eighth.

His massive blast to left in the seventh – which tied KU’s freshman record for home runs with eight – soared high into the trees and closed the gap to 9-5. Land could have used some of that extra distance in his next plate appearance. Trailing 9-7 in the eighth and a runner on, Land lined a 3-2 pitch toward the right-field fence.

“I knew I hit it well,” Land said. “I didn’t know if I got it up in the air enough. I was talking to myself and waving it out.”

His arm motions and pleas of “Get going, get going” wouldn’t be enough. The ball came just inches short of a home run, banging against the wall for a two-out, run-scoring double.

The Kansas seniors completed the comeback in the ninth. Ritchie Price lined a one-out single to right, advancing to second on Matt Baty’s groundout.

With the pressure on, Milner came through. Though he had gone hitless in his first four plate appearances, the senior lined a single to left to score Price and knot the game at 9.

Because Smyth had pitched so well in the previous inning, Price elected to stay with the freshman instead of turning to closer Don Czyz.

“If there hadn’t been the second game,” Price said, “I’m sure (Czyz) would have been in there.”

Instead, Smyth had his first pitch of the 10th blasted over the right-field wall by Smith to give the Sooners the lead for good.

Price led Kansas with three hits, while Jared Schweitzer added a home run and two RBIs.

OU grabbed an early lead in game two when Chuckie Caufield’s walk turned into a first-inning run after a Ryan Rohlinger single to right. Baty walked in the bottom of the first but advanced no further before the heavy rains hit. The teams will resume the game in the top of the second today.