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Sooners walk-off UT-Arlington 7-6, back to SEC grind

Eddie On3by:Eddie Radosevich•about 17 hours
OU Baseball5
Oklahoma baseball. (OU Athletics)

Some nights in college baseball are going to be like that. 

Easton Carmichael delivered when it mattered Tuesday night, sending an Aaron Calhoun pitch into right field and a 7-6 walk-off victory for the Sooners. Oklahoma is now 18-2 on the season ahead of this weekend’s first conference home series with Mississippi State. 

Better to be on this end than the other. 

“It was a tough night to pitch. It’s a tough night to play. You get in late and have a day off and are on spring break then have to play a Tuesday game after playing a weekend series. It’s really tough,” said Oklahoma head coach Skip Johnson. I thought they played with passion all night long. We had some big hits in some key moments all night.” 

And Oklahoma needed it. Every one of the 14 hits after Sooners starter Cam Johnson lasted just one trip through the UT-Arlington line up Tuesday. Johnson walked four and allowed three runs on just a lone Austin Phillips hit that brought two home in the top of the second.  

Before left-hander Gavyn Jones was able to close the book for Johnson, UT-Arlington had built a three-run lead. 

SOONERS ALWAYS HAVE AN ANWSER 

Maybe it’s going to be a common occurrence but as they did last weekend, Oklahoma found answers when forced to on Tuesday. 

Scott Mudler opened the Sooners scoring in the bottom of the second with a two-run double. One inning later, Jason Walk started the home half of the third with a solo shot to left, matching his home run total from a season ago. Dayton Tockey’s third bomb of the year followed a few batters later to give Oklahoma a 5-4 lead. 

They’re finding answers offensively, which is a positive sign ahead of the grind that comes with conference play. But it’s nothing new. Saw it in Round Rock. We saw it as recent as last weekend in the Sunday series-clinching win at South Carolina.

Tuesday night? It was Easton Carmichael delivering in the clutch following a two-strike, two-out ninth inning blast off Austin Phillips bat that tied the game in the top of the ninth.  

“I think it’s the adversity that they’ve really responded to moreso than anything. They’ve really started taking it pitch to pitch and if they continue to understand in the big moments of the game, taking a breath and slowing it down. Then that happens,” said Johnson. 

Jaxon Willits finished the night 4-for-4 with a single, triple and a fifth-inning home run, finishing just a double shy of the cycle. Tockey went 2-for-3 with two RBIs. Mudler finished the night with a pair of extra base hits, including his first career triple in a Sooners uniform. 

ANOTHER GOOD SHOWING FOR THE BULLPEN 

Gavyn Jones (1.0 innings pitched), Michael Catalano (1.1), Jackson Kircher (0.2), Jaden Barfield (1.0) and Reid Hensley (2.0) were all solid on Tuesday night in relief of Cam Johnson. 

Particularly freshman Michael Catalano, who struck out the first four batters he faced before turning his ankle covering first. 

Jones and Hensley made one mistake and paid for it with solo shots in the third and ninth. On a night with the wind blowing out at L. Dale Mitchell Ballpark you can live with it.  

NEXT UP

Oklahoma (18-2, 2-1) welcomes Mississippi State to Norman for a three-game series starting on Friday with first pitch set for 6:30 p.m.

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