Sooners baseball pounds ORU 14-0 in Norman Regional opener

L. Dale Mitchell Ballpark was filled to the brim, and the Sooners delivered on Friday night advancing into the winner’s bracket of the Norman Regional with a 14-0 win against Oral Roberts. 

It was a night of celebration with postseason baseball returning to Norman for the first time since 2010. The Oklahoma fan base was treated to quite the celebration.

Kyson Witherspoon stranded seven Oral Roberts base runners over the first three innings before settling in and retiring the final 10 batters he faced. He ended the fifth and sixth – his final frame– with back-to-back strikeouts. 

A John Spikerman leadoff triple in the first inning was a precursor of things to come on a night in which the Oklahoma offense pounded out 17 hits, including seven for extra bases. Bryce Madron made his return to the Sooners starting lineup by blasting a third inning two-run home run to right field. He finished the night going 3-for-4 with pair of doubles and three RBIs.

Oklahoma advances to a winners bracket game Saturday night against UConn. First pitch set for 8 p.m. 

WITHERSPOON WALKS TIGHT ROPE

Oral Roberts had plenty of opportunities in the first three innings to jump on Sooners starter Kyson Witherspoon. It stranded the bases loaded in the first following back-to-back two-out walks. Witherspoon escaped with a strikeout of Sam Thompson. 

In the second, the Golden Eagles stranded two more runners as Witherspoon induced a fly out and strikeout to close the frame. One inning later, a pair of walks left the sophomore right-hander navigating more traffic on the base paths only to escape with a pair of strikeouts. 

“I thought Kyson started off trying really hard. Trying to execute pitches really hard but he settled in and rightfully so probably never been in an environment like that,” said Oklahoma head coach Skip Johnson. “He settled in and made some really big pitches with men on base, which was really a good sign of a great pitcher.” 

Settled in is one way to put it. Witherspoon retired the final 10 batters he faced. He closed out the fifth and the sixth inning with back-to–back strikeouts. His final line of six innings, one hit, five walks and nine strikeouts most likely not indicative of how dominant his night was. 

“Hopefully I can keep settling in a lot earlier than that, but just at the beginning, probably trying to do a little too much with my pitches. Trying to work around the zone a little too much. Just throw the mark and that’s what I did at the end,” said Witherspoon, who finished five of his six frames with a strikeout. 

Most importantly was the fact that Witherspoon spun six innings after throwing 77 pitches in his first three. Perhaps something that will get overlooked this evening but could be helpful for the Sooners pitching staff with a long weekend ahead. 

“I thought it was huge moreso him just settling down. When he settled down, he started making quality pitches and kind of kept them off balance. I thought it was really big for him to get out there and finish the sixth,” said Johnson. 

Carter Campbell tossed the final three innings for Oklahoma, allowing a pair of hits and striking out two.

SOONERS LED FROM THE TOP

If that’s what Oklahoma is going to get from the top of its line up … watch out. John Spikerman, Bryce Madron and Easton Carmichael combined to drive in eight runs in the opener, going 9-for-13 with a pair of doubles, a triple, a two-run home run and three-run home run. 

Well then. That’ll do. 

“You don’t come up for air with those three guys sitting there having quality at-bat after quality at-bat. It’s really big. I thought Spikerman set the table tonight hitting the big triple in the first and situational hitting right after that Bryce driving him in. I thought that was really big,” said Johnson. 

For Bryce Madron, it was a comfortable return to the starting lineup after missing the last six Sooners games with a hamstring injury. He struck out in a pinch hit appearance last Friday in the eighth against Kansas. 

“It was pretty big. I mean just a confidence booster. Going to try and keep it going throughout the regional. Just doing what I can. I know our guys were going to be pretty good so just doing what I can,” said Madron. 

Easton Carmichael’s three-run home run in the fifth extended Oklahoma’s lead to 6-0 after Spikerman sparked the inning with a walk and Madron followed with the first of his two doubles. 

Spikerman equaled his hit total (3) from the entire Big 12 Tournament with a two-run single in the seventh and Oklahoma led 10-0. 

BUT IT WASN’T JUST MADRON AND FRIENDS

Oklahoma’s offense fired on all cylinders. Catcher Scott Mudler opened the Sooners sixth with a solo shot to right field extending the lead to 7-0. His first big fly since April 6.

Oklahoma tacked on four more runs in the eighth highlighted by an Isaiah Lane RBI single and a Mudler two run base hit. 

The Sooners offense has been good. On Friday? They were great. Just take Oral Roberts head coach Ryan Folmar’s word for it.

“It’s good. It’s deep. From top to bottom, it’s deep. There’s no gimmie outs, no easy outs. There’s nowhere where you can relax in the line up. It’s a really balanced offense,” Folmar said. “They can beat you in a lot of ways. You saw that tonight. They stole a couple bases. Hit a couple balls out of the yard. A bunch of singles in there too. It’s a really complete offense. It’s a really dynamic offense.

“When they get going, it’s tough to get them back under wraps. There’s no freebies in that lineup. It’s good.” 

The 14-run win is the largest margin of victory by an Oklahoma baseball team ever in the NCAA Tournament. 

POSTSEASON LOOKS GOOD ON LDM

Oklahoma head coach Skip Johnson told reporters after the game he had envisioned a night like Friday for a long time. He’s taken the Sooners to Omaha, but this year’s return trip will run through Norman – at least this weekend’s Regional. 

And Oklahoma fans showed out, setting the L. Dale Mitchell Ballpark postseason attendance record with 4,332 fans. It was the fourth-largest home crowd in program history, leaving the Sooners skipper a bit emotional. 

“It was awesome. That’s what I visualized a long time ago hosting a regional here. I get kind of emotional about it because I want to bring something that’s special here. The University of Oklahoma will be here a long time after I’m gone. If I can bring something and leave a mark on this program doing the right thing and teaching these young people about lessons and bringing everybody the game of baseball. It’s such a pure game. It’s such a fun game. I don’t think people understand it sometimes. College baseball is electric,” said Johnson. 

NEWS & NOTES

* Anthony Mackenzie is day-to-day after leaving the game in the fifth inning with a shoulder injury. True freshman Isaiah Lane replaced Mackenzie and made a pair of stops in the top half of the seventh before delivering an RBI single in the bottom half. 

* It was the first postseason shutout in L. Dale Mitchell Ballpark history, and the Sooners first postseason shutout since 2018 vs. Samford in the Tallahassee Regional. 

REGIONAL SCHEDULE 

FRIDAY

Game 1: UConn 4, Duke 1

Game 2: Oklahoma 14, ORU 0

Saturday

Game 3: Duke vs. Oral Roberts (Elimination, 2 p.m.)
Game 4: Oklahoma vs. UConn (8 p.m.)

Sunday
Game 5: Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 loser (Elimination, 2 p.m.)
Game 6: Game 5 winner vs. Game 4 winner (Regional Championship, 8 p.m.)

Monday
If necessary, to be determined