Oklahoma baseball returned to action at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark on Thursday afternoon with its season firmly on the line in an elimination game at the Big 12 tournament against No. 1 seed Texas.
Likely needing a couple of wins this week to even hope to gain an at-large bid to next week’s NCAA Tournament, the Sooners turned to left-hander Braden Carmichael (6-3) to try and keep the season alive for at least one more day. He wasn’t terrible, but he struggled with command, walking five batters in less than three innings of work and sending Oklahoma to a 4-1 loss.
The Longhorns broke on top in the bottom of the second inning on catcher Silas Ardoin’s sacrifice fly. Oklahoma, however, responded in the top half of the third when second baseman Conor McKenna came through with a two-out RBI single.
Texas re-took the lead in the bottom half on an RBI double by right fielder Douglas Hodo that ended Carmichael’s day.
Wyatt Olds relieved him in the third and worked a sensational five innings, allowing two runs and striking out 11.
The first run allowed by Olds came in the fourth on an RBI single by first baseman Zach Zubia that made the score 3-1. The second came in the eighth when Sooners right-hander Luke Taggart’s wild pitch gave the Longhorns an insurance run they didn’t need.
The loss by the Sooners (27-28) likely closes the book on a very odd season during which they showed repeated glimmers of potential. The Sooners kept giving indications they would turn the corner, but never did. The problems at the beginning of the year remained all the way through Thursday’s game.
A very interesting offseason awaits. Oklahoma must reshape the roster into a contender. There is obvious talent on the squad, and it may not be that far away from winning. But the the pitching staff, especially, needs help.
Sooners Wire will continue to provide updates on the Sooners throughout the offseason as players make decisions on their careers and new blood gets introduced into the program.