Oklahoma Sooners pull off doubleheader sweep

Oklahoma swept an elimination doubleheader to keep their season alive.

Sunday was a long day at the ballpark for the Oklahoma Sooners. However, it was worth every single second of it as the Sooners won not once but twice to keep their season alive and force a do-or-die Game 7 for the opportunity to advance to the Super Regionals where the ACC Tournament runner-ups, Florida State, await them.

The Sooners had no margin for error, as a loss would end their season. After a short rain delay, they took on Duke, the ACC Tournament champs.

Duke drew first blood on an A.J. Garcia single to score Zac Morris and make it a 1-0 Blue Devils lead in the first inning. After getting caught stealing twice, the Sooners managed nothing in their half of their first.

Later, Rocco Garza-Gongora scored Jaxon Willits on an RBI single in the third off Fran Oschell before freshman Jason Walk got in on the action and lined a two-run triple to give OU a 3-1 lead.

Grant Stevens, a senior left-hander, put forth one of the best performances of his career as he held down an elite Duke offense for seven innings. He had seven strikeouts while giving up just one earned run on six hits and two walks, giving Oklahoma a legitimate chance to win.

The Sooners added another run in the bottom of the seventh inning when Michael Snyder slapped a double off the wall in left field, scoring Easton Carmichael to push Oklahoma’s lead to 4-1. Carson Atwood entered in relief and was promptly met with resistance as a double and home run brought Duke closer at 4-3.

Malachi Witherspoon shut down the eighth-inning rally and kept Duke quiet in the ninth as Oklahoma knocked out Duke to set up a rematch with UConn.

After a short break, the Sooners hopped right back into action, knowing they would have to beat UConn not once but twice to reach the Super Regionals.

The Huskies sent Garrett Coe to the bump while Oklahoma rolled with Brendan Girton. Girton didn’t have it today, and Skip Johnson wasted no time giving him the hook. In the first inning, UConn’s leadoff hitter Caleb Shpur cracked a solo home run to left field to open the scoring. Luke Broadhurst singled in Paul Tammaro to make it a 2-0 Huskies lead.

OU responded immediately in the top half of the second on a Scott Mudler RBI single to drive in Jackson Nicklaus.

Out of the bullpen came Jett Lodes, who relieved Girton after a walk to start the bottom of the second. Lodes gave up a run-scoring single to Korey Morton as the Huskies took a 3-1 lead. From that point on, Lodes was nails for the Sooners.

He twirled seven scoreless innings and allowed three hits while walking just two batters. He also racked up seven strikeouts during his outing.

In the top of the third, Oklahoma responded in a big way, with Michael Snyder slamming a two-run homer off Coe to tie the game. The teams remained in a deadlock until the top of the eighth.

In the eighth, the Sooners used patient approaches against the Huskies’ Kieran Finnegan, which paid off. A Jaxon Willits single and a walk by Nicklaus set the scene for Scott Mudler to deliver another RBI Single, giving OU a 4-3 lead. Isaiah Lane walked to load the bases, and the lineup turned over to the top. John Spikerman flew out, but on the very first pitch of his at-bat, OU’s Bryce Madron ripped Braden Quinn’s breaking pitch into the left-center field gap for a 2-run double and a 6-3 Oklahoma lead.

UConn designated hitter Tyler Minick hit a home run in the bottom of the inning to cut the lead to 6-4, but that was it as junior Ryan Lambert came on in the ninth for the save and locked up the win.

With the win, the stage is set for Monday. There will be one final game between UConn and OU. The winner will face FSU in the Super Regionals, and the loser’s season will end.

The game will be at 8 p.m. local time and can be seen on ESPN+.