Oklahoma baseball concluded their three-game home set with Georgia Southern on Sunday afternoon after dropping the first two games in a doubleheader on Saturday.
This was an important series for the Sooners after dropping two of three against Kansas State last weekend, so after losing both of ends of the doubleheader the day before – Skip Johnson’s club simply had to find a way to avoid being swept at home.
Getting the start for Oklahoma was usual Sunday pitcher Braden Carmichael who had a decent not great afternoon allowing three runs on eight hits while working into the fifth inning.
Things wouldn’t start off great for Carmichael, as the Eagles would plate two runs in the top of the first inning to grab a quick lead. In the second inning, after the Sooners got one run back in the bottom of the first, Georgia Southern would strike for two more runs on a two-run single by second baseman Steven Curry. The Eagles would hold a 4-1 lead into the third inning.
Oklahoma would cut into the deficit in the bottom of the third on RBI hits from designated hitter Brett Squires and right fielder Jace Bohrofen. They would then add two more in the fourth to take the lead on a home run by first baseman Tyler Hardman – his ninth of the year.
In a role much unlike how he’s typically used, right-hander Jason Ruffcorn (3-1) entered the game in relief of Carmichael in the fifth and was very sharp despite being extended more than what we usually see from him. He went for three and two-thirds innings without allowing a run or a single hit. He was fantastic as usual despite the extra workload.
After adding another run in the bottom of the inning, the Sooners would strike for three in the sixth on another RBI-double by Squires and a successful bunt by left fielder Breydon Daniel. It was 9-4 Oklahoma heading to the late innings.
The Sooners would continue to pile on in the seventh on a two-run double ripped down the right field line by catcher Jimmy Crooks to extend the advantage to 11-4. They would then tack on three more runs in the bottom of the eighth to reach the ten-run Sunday run-rule threshold and get the win to move to 20-19 on the season.
This was a win that Oklahoma obviously had to have in every possible sense, you just can’t get swept at home by Georgia Southern. While it will feel good certainly to get back in the win column, this was a really tough weekend for the team to lose this series.
At this point, it seems unlikely the Sooners will be able to get back into the mix as far as an NCAA Tournament bid, but nothing is out of question just yet. There are still big games coming up very soon and, of course, they always have the possibility of the automatic bid should they find a way to win the Big 12 Tournament next month.
The team will now have several days without game action as they won’t take the diamond again until Friday when they begin a gigantic three-game series against Oklahoma State. The opener will be back in Stillwater before they come to Norman for the final two. They will easily be the biggest games of the year for the Sooners to this point, with potentially any hope of making something of this season hanging in the balance.