OU baseball sweeps Lehigh to open 2025 season

It wasn’t the type of performance that led anyone to booking a room in Omaha — yet — but OU baseball opened the season as advertised Friday, sweeping a double-header from Lehigh to open the 2025 season. 

Many of the new Sooners making their debuts delivered positive returns as Oklahoma opened the season with an 11-3 victory in the first game and followed up in the night cap with an 13-3 run-rule. 

“It was long. Little bit chilly. Little bit windy. Thought we came out and set the tone early for Kyson (Witherspoon) and Cam (Johnson) kind of settled them in a little bit, made more pitches. I thought the hitters separated balls from strikes,” OU head coach Skip Johnson said. “Did what they needed to do.

“I was really proud of the guys that came in and pinch hit. They were pulling for each other and had really quality at bats.” 

Contributions were made up and down the lineup over the course of the nine-hour extravaganza. 

Let’s cover the standouts from a pair of Oklahoma victories to begin the season. 

KYSON WITHERSPOON IS THE ACE 

Eight different Sooners recorded an RBI and the Sooners pitching staff struck out a combined 16 in the first game of double-header Friday. It was the most combined strikeouts in a game since the Big 12 Championship game in 2022. Special season, huh? 

Oklahoma ace Kyson Witherspoon began the party, cruising through his first start of the season. Witherspoon threw five innings, allowing two hits and two earned runs. But it was his fastball that wow’d.

Even on a cold, blustery day in Norman, Witherspoon was as expected, striking out nine, including six Mountain Hawks the first time through the order. 

A building block of sorts to a long season. A marathon. But when Witherspoon is on the mound Fridays, it’s going to attract some attention. 

“I thought he was really sharp. Going to keep working on the two strike pitch. Overthrowing the two strike pitch and getting him in rhythm,” Johnson said. “That’s why his pitch count got elevated a little bit.

“But I thought Kyson was really sharp today. Really quality pitches. I think he was up to 98 miles an hour and I think in his last inning he was up to 98.” 

Quality stuff from the Sooners projected first round talent to start his junior campaign.

“It felt awesome playing with my new guys behind me just getting to feel the team out it felt really good,” said Kyson Witherspoon following his first start of the season. 

NEW FACES DELIVER ON FIRST DAY 

Junior Sam Christiansen tripled in his first at bat in the opener.  Two batters later junior first baseman Dayton Tockey homered in his first at-bat as a Sooner. Freshman second baseman Kyle Branch laced a ball to centerfield in the fifth of the opener that got past a diving Jake Whitlinger allowing Branch to race around the bases for an inside the park home run. 

And that was just in the opener. Junior Christian Hoffman pinch-hit two-run double walked off to a run-rule victory Oklahoma in the second game. 

Not a bad first impression for a number of players that will be asked to replace the graduated and departed. 

Perhaps most impressive of the new crop of Sooners was junior designated hitter Trey Gambill who went to the plate nine times on Friday and reached base every time. 

“He struggled in the fall. He hit really good at Southern Utah Community College. Then you’re coming in to a new place, made new adjustments and all of the sudden you’re seeing different arms. But he came back in the spring a totally different guy. Really confident. Had really good at bats,” said Johnson. 

When you look at the production that is missing from this year’s line up, it was an important first step for a number of Sooners that made their debut. 

JOHNSON, CROSSLAND DEBUT FOR SOONERS 

It’s going to be interesting to watch over the next few weeks how the Sooners third weekend starter position works itself out. Kyson Witherspoon will obviously take the ball on Fridays. Malachi Witherspoon will be on the bump on Saturday. 

On Friday night in the second game of the double-header, it was redshirt freshman Cam Johnson that was given the opportunity. There were flashes of the guy that was highly ranked out of high school. He faced the minimum over his first two innings, then Lehigh jumped on him in the third. Eventually walking pair of runs in, Johnson escaped the jam with a double play to end the inning. 

But in between, there were glimpses of a talent that will need to continue develop under Johnson. 

“I thought it was a really good learning lesson for him to understand staying one pitch at a time. Take his breath when he needs to take his breath. Being in control of himself and taking everything one pitch at a time. I thought he pounded the strike zone,” said Johnson of his 6-foot-6 left-handed transfer. 

Cam Johnson picked up the first win of his college career after throwing five innings, allowing two runs, five walks and three strikeouts. 

In relief of Johnson came junior college transfer Cade Crossland. Crossland logged two innings, allowing a lone hit, a walk and struck out two. 

NOTES

* Junior Easton Carmichael sent a moonshot over the left field wall in the second game of the double-header. The three-run shot extended Oklahoma’s lead to 7-0 in the third inning. He finished the evening going 3-for-5 with five RBIs, adding an RBI double in the seventh. It’s the fourth time he’s knocked in five runs in a game in his career. 

* Senior relief pitcher Jamie Hitt worked two innings of relief in the first game. Most important step for the lefty that struggled throughout the back end of last season. He’s going to be a key piece in the Sooners bullpen. This was a good first test. 

* Another arm that was impressive in a limited sample size Friday was freshman Michael Catalano. He struckout the side after inheriting a pair of base runners in the 8th. Good first impression in a little bit of a sticky spot for a pitcher making his debut. 

NEXT UP

Oklahoma looks to finish off the two-day sweep of Lehigh on Saturday with Malachi Witherspoon on the mound. First pitch set for 2 p.m. at L. Dale Mitchell Ballpark.