Sooners baseball opens conference play with doubleheader sweep

Sooners baseball will take more of that, wherever that came from opening Big 12 Conference play with a pair of wins on Saturday. OU sweeping the UCF doubleheader by scores of 4-3 and 11-3.

Doubleheaders make for a long day at the yard, but Oklahoma’s offense made it easier on life scoring in every inning of the second game.

Michael Snyder delivered the big blow in the first inning of the second game with the first of six Sooners extra-base hits. The two-out triple cleared the bases giving Oklahoma 3-0 lead. He finished the second game with four RBIs. 

Carson Atwood inherited a mess in the third inning, inheriting a bases loaded jam that chased starter Brendan Girton from the game. Atwood left the bases loaded with a strikeout of Andrew Estrella. 

Carson Atwood and Grant Stevens combined to throw 4.2 innings, allowing just two hits, one run, one walk and five strikeouts. 

Oklahoma’s offense did the rest, manufacturing a run in each inning from the second through the seventh before a Scott Mudler two-run blast put the exclamation point on the afternoon and a series victory in the eighth. Sooners bats recorded six extra-base hits in the nightcap. 

“I think we had three two-out hits in the game and everybody picked each other up out of the bullpen. They picked (Brendan) Girton up out of the bullpen. They ran his pitch count up really fast. It was just a good day to pick each other up. I think that’s been the strength of our team all year and it was really big at that point (today),” said Oklahoma head coach Skip Johnson. 

Easton Carmichael reached base in all four plate appearances, going 2-for-2 with a double and a triple and two walks. Bryce Madron went 2-for-3 with 2 RBIs. 

Sooners 4, Central Florida 3

Oklahoma opened the Big 12 Conference slate with a 4-3 victory, scoring a run in the sixth, seventh and eighth. The go-ahead run coming in the home half of the eighth as Jason Walk came home from second base on a Michael Snyder ground out. 

But it was the Sooners pitching staff that held things together. Braden Davis threw six innings before giving way to Ryan Lambert who found trouble in the seventh. Then the Witherspoon twins did what they have done since arriving in Norman. 

Malachi Witherspoon escaped the seventh, allowing just a run with back-to-back strikeouts and a line out to short, stranding the bases loaded. Despite giving up the lead, Oklahoma could breathe. A major disaster had been avoided. 

Oklahoma would answer in the seventh with a Jaxon Willits sacrifice fly scoring Anthony Mackenzie tying the game 3-3. 

Easton Carmichael drew a one-out walk to begin the eighth inning scoring opportunity, giving way to pinch-runner Jason Walk. Walk stole second to move into scoring position and eventually scored the go ahead run on a throwing error by UCF first baseman Lex Boedicker. 

Looking to sweep

Oklahoma (8-5, 2-0) will look to sweep the conference opening series on Sunday with first pitch at noon in Norman. 

The last time Oklahoma put itself in position to sweep a series came after a double-header sweep and things couldn’t have gone worse in a 12-2 loss to Wright State. 

Maybe it’s time to right that wrong. 

“You just want to play good baseball. That’s the biggest thing you look for is just playing against the ball. It’s a tough day today being out here for so long. It’s been cold. But I think that’s the biggest thing is just trying to play good baseball. We spring forward (overnight) and we play a noon game. You hope and pray that those guys get some sleep and get some rest and be ready to play tomorrow. I think they will be,” said Johnson.