Tag: Easton Carmichael

Sooners eliminated from NCAA Tournament after 7-1 loss to UConn

Oklahoma Sooners season comes to an end after 7-1 loss to UCONN in regional title game

Monday was a rough day for both Oklahoma sports teams on the diamond. While the ladies of the softball team lost at the hands of Florida, the baseball team had their own business to tend to.

The mission was straightforward: Win and move on to the Super Regionals to face the Florida State Seminoles.

However, things didn’t go nearly as planned. The UConn Huskies, winners of the Big East regular-season crown, laid waste to the Sooners in Norman to punch their ticket to Tallahassee.

Carson Atwood received the start for the Sooners, while the Huskies sent out DIII transfer Gabe Van Emon to start things in the winner-take-all game.

After keeping the Huskies off the board first, the Sooners opened up the bottom of the first, looking to strike first and capture some serious momentum.

John Spikerman led the inning off with a single up the middle before Bryce Madron worked a walk. An Easton Carmichael double play followed and UConn coach Jim Penders decided to intentionally walk Michael Snyder. Snyder has terrorized opposing pitching staffs in the regional, which led to a Jaxon Willits ground out and the end of the inning.

What started as a promising half-inning fizzled out big time. That was virtually the game for the Sooners.

Both teams were held scoreless until the fourth inning, when things came apart for the Sooners.

Korey Morton cranked a two-run homer over the fence in left-center to put the Huskies out in front. Catcher Scott Mudler made a critical throwing error to complete what would have been a strikeout and the third out of the inning. The ball rolled to the wall on the right field, and Tyler Minnick raced around to third base.

After Skip Johnson relieved Arwood, he brought in Carter Campbell, who promptly gave up a two-run homer. The Huskies lead doubled to 4-0.

After connecting on a couple of singles, in the bottom half of the inning, OU remained scoreless. They couldn’t put together the big hit when needed.

Luke Broadhurst and Korey Morton delivered RBI singles for UConn later in the game to make it 6-0 and that pretty much decided the game.

Van Emon, hardly a flamethrower, used well-located breaking pitches to keep the Sooners off balance. His defense behind him, by far the best defensive unit in this region and the best defensive team OU has played all season, kept dazzling with spectacular plays and made the routine ones look routine. He pitched 7.1 shutout innings, allowed five hits, and walked just two batters en route to the win.

A dynamic offense like Oklahoma’s just ran into bad luck, and a much-improved pitching unit had one of its least effective outings in quite some time. Throw in some defensive miscues by the Sooners, and you will get the result.

With the loss, OU’s season comes to an ends. The Sooners will have quite a few returners but lose some valuable pieces as they leap to the SEC next season. There will be multiple decisions to make, and Skip Johnson and his staff will have to use the transfer portal to fill in gaps along the way.

Johnson and this team were a much-improved group, winning a Big 12 regular season title and earning a top 16 national seed. It’s not the way anyone expected the season to end, but OU shouldn’t hang its head. They put together a terrific season.

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Photos from Oklahoma Sooners 14-0 win over Oral Roberts in the NCAA Tournament

Best photos from the Oklahoma Sooners 14-0 win over Oral Roberts in the NCAA Tournament.

The Oklahoma Sooners got off to a roaring start in their NCAA Tournament opener in the Norman Regional against Oral Roberts. Kyson Witherspoon and Carter Campbell combined for a shutout and the Sooners offense put up 14 runs behind three home runs.

It was a magnificent return to the starting lineup for [autotag]Bryce Madron[/autotag], who went 3-for-4 with a home run and three RBIs. The top three of the order, [autotag]John Spikerman[/autotag], Madron, and [autotag]Easton Carmichael[/autotag], combined to go 9-for-13 with two home runs, eight RBIs, and seven runs scored. It was a dominant performance for the top of the lineup.

“It was a confidence booster,” Madron said of his return. “Just going to try to keep it going throughout the regional, and I know our guys are going to be pretty good. I’m just going to do what I can.”

Witherspoon showed resiliency, working around trouble multiple times to keep Oral Roberts off the scoreboard. He threw six shutout innings with nine strikeouts. He allowed just one hit and was able to work around five walks on the evening. Campbell allowed just two hits and no walks during his three innings of work.

Now the Sooners will take on the UConn Huskies in the winner’s bracket on Saturday evening. A win there will take them to the Norman Regional final on Sunday with a shot to move on to the Super Regionals next weekend.

Oklahoma Sooners to be without star outfielder for 4-6 weeks

The Sooners will be down one of their best players for about a month due to an injury.

Just before the Oklahoma Sooners took on Dallas Baptist they found out some devastating news. The Sooners would be without their star outfielder, [autotag]John Spikerman[/autotag].

Spikerman, now a junior, has been a mainstay in the lineup since his freshman season in 2022. But the voice of the Sooners, Toby Rowland, announced he will be having hamate surgery and will be out 4-6 weeks to recover. This surgery is to fix an injury in his hand but he could be able to pinch run while the injury heals.

Spikerman currently leads the Sooners in batting average at .394. He also has one of the better on-base percentages on the team at .446. The Sooners are definitely going to miss his presence on the field and in the lineup but they are also going to miss his leadership.

He was someone who had been to a College World Series. He had won the Big 12 tournament. This year was shaping up to be a career year for him as well.

If there are any positives from this it’s that Oklahoma is very deep in the outfield so they’ll have plenty of people to try to replace him but it’s always hard to replace your top hitters and one of the leaders of the team.

The Sooners are back in action this weekend against the [autotag]West Virginia Mountaineers[/autotag].

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Catcher Easton Carmichael named Co-Big 12 Player of the Week

Sophomore catcher Easton Carmichael named Big 12 Co-Player of the Week after an incredible four game performance.

It was an electric week for sophomore catcher Easton Carmichael. His production at the plate earned Carmichael Big 12 Co-Player of the Week honors.

Oklahoma went undefeated last week, and Carmichael was pivotal in the Sooners efforts. He hit .615 with four extra-base hits, including two home runs and eight RBIs.

The sophomore went 8-for-13, scoring eight runs, drawing three walks, and even stealing a base for good measure. He also struck out only one time during that impressive run.

On Sunday, he went yard to put the run rule into effect and end the Sooners’ sweep of new Big 12 foe UCF early in the seventh inning.

He’ll split this award with Texas designated hitter Max Belyeu.

Carmichael is the first Oklahoma Sooner to win a Player of the Week award since his brother, Braden, did it last season as Pitcher of the Week.

Carmichael has recorded a multi-hit game for the Sooners in four of the last six games. He’s now batting .472, good for second in the Big 12, while slugging .755, good for fifth. Carmichael is fifth in OPS, fourth in doubles, and tenth in runs batted in.

Carmichael will look to continue his hot campaign this week as Oklahoma plays Oklahoma State and Texas-Arlington and has a weekend series in Fort Worth against a ranked TCU squad.

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How to watch, key players for the Oklahoma Sooners vs. Dallas Baptist

After a 2-1 weekend the Sooners are back in action with a midweek game against Dallas Baptist. Here is how to watch.

What a start to the season it was for the Oklahoma Sooners. They started the year 2-1 with a win over top 10 Tennessee.

Now they are back in action on the road against Dallas Baptist who is 3-0 on the season. The Sooners have a chance to really impress people and continue to make statements if they are able to win this one.

The pitching matchup was announced on Monday, and it will be [autotag]Grant Stevens[/autotag] for OU, who is making his debut. For Dallas Baptist, it will be Nick Wilson who is 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA on the year.

Let’s look at how you can watch the game as well as some more key players.

Oklahoma Sooners Baseball falls to Oregon 4-2 in 2024 season opener

Oklahoma Sooners drop their opening day game to the Oregon Ducks 4-2

Friday afternoon marked a wonderful time in the Oklahoma sports calendar as the Sooners baseball team embarked on its final journey as Big 12 members. Oklahoma is back and trying to work themselves into a return to Omaha for the College World Series.

Oklahoma opened their season in Arlington, Texas, against the Pac-12’s Oregon Ducks at Globe Life Field. Oklahoma dropped their opening day matchup with Oregon 4-2. The Ducks’ heralded bullpen locked things down, and their offense pushed across two late runs in the top of the eighth inning to seal the deal for last year’s Pac-12 tournament champions.

The first inning was pretty eventful for Oklahoma pitcher Braden Davis, who started by hitting the game’s first batter, Drew Smith. Smith advanced on a passed ball before a Dominic Hellman single drove him in for the first run of the game.

Oklahoma struggled to mount anything early against Oregon starter RJ Gordon, who tossed 4.1 innings of two-run ball. Braden Davis settled in the next few innings before a wild pitch with a runner on third cost the Sooners yet another run, giving the Ducks a 2-0 lead.

In the bottom of the third, the top of the Sooner’s order woke up as a John Spikerman single, Bryce Madron double, and an Easton Carmichael sacrifice fly helped Oklahoma scratch their first run. Kendall Pettis followed up with a sacrifice fly of his own to tie the ball game.

From then on, the game became a pitching duel as the Sooners and Ducks held each other scoreless over the next five innings. Braden Davis’ day came to an end after five innings of two-run ball. He struck out seven batters and walked just two on 88 pitches.

One of Skip Johnson’s transfer adds, Malachi Witherspoon pitched two innings in relief. Witherspoon was solid primarily until the top of the 8th inning in his third inning in relief. Then things began to unravel for him.

A single, wild pitch and back-to-back walks loaded the bases with no outs.

Johnson made the call to the bullpen, bringing in senior right-hander Carson Atwood, who induced a double play, but the Ducks scored to make it 3-2. With a runner on third, another passed ball gave the Ducks an insurance run to make it 4-2.

Those two runs in the eighth proved to be enough as a terrific showing by the Oregon bullpen kept Oklahoma off the scoreboard for the remainder of the game.

Grayson Ginsell and Michael Freund combined for 4.2 innings of relief, with Freund recording the save in the 9th to close the door. The duo allowed zero runs and gave up just one hit.

Offensively, the Sooners had six hits and left five runners on base.

The Sooners will be back at it tomorrow against one of the nation’s best teams as they take on No. 9 Tennessee in the second game of the Shriners Children’s College Baseball Showdown. The game is set for 7 p.m. Saturday before closing the weekend with a 10:30 a.m. matchup against Nebraska.

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One last ride: Oklahoma baseball set to embark on final season in the Big 12

Taking a brief look at Oklahoma baseball as they get set to start their season on Friday afternoon against Oregon.

As the calendar switched to 2024, the clock ticks faster and faster on the remaining winter and spring sports to wrap up their final days in the Big 12. The baseball program is the last Oklahoma team to start its final campaign in the conference. That changes Friday as the Sooners travel to Arlington, Texas, for three days to kick off their season in the Shriners Children’s College Showdown.

More: How to watch Oklahoma Baseball in the Shriner’s Children’s College Showdown.

Globe Life Field is home to the defending World Series champion, Texas Rangers, and the Sooners themselves will be trying to focus on getting back to the College World Series.

An offseason rebuild focused on pitching. The return of some crucial players from last year’s NCAA Tournament team sets the stage for what Oklahoma will look like in 2024.

Pitching was far and away the biggest weakness in 2023, so it only made sense that head coach Skip Johnson, one of the nation’s best pitching coaches in his own right, attempted to plug the gaping holes in his rotation and bullpen.

The Sooners hit the transfer portal and brought in newcomers Braden Davis (Sam Houston State), Brendan Girton (Texas Tech), Kyson Witherspoon (Northwest Florida State College), and freshman Jacob Gholston to add some talent and power to the staff.

Witherspoon also has a twin named Malachi who could see action during the season, likely during the midweek affairs. The lone returning weekend rotation guy is James Hitt, who’ll probably be in that role this year.

Austin Henry, a transfer from Wichita State, has an abundance of talent and is also someone who may come along as the season goes on. Carter Campbell and Carson Atwood, alongside Jett Lodes, are the immediate names that stand out as trusted arms from the bullpen. That won’t be enough for an entire season, so developing the rest of the bullpen is among the early season priorities.

Simply put, the pitching is the number one thing to watch, especially early on.

On the other hand, Oklahoma should be a versatile offense equipped with power and speed. Center fielder John Spikerman, right field Bryce Madron, third baseman/first baseman Anthony Mackenzie, second baseman Jackson Nicklaus, catcher Easton Carmichael, and outfielder Kendall Pettis return to give Oklahoma an experienced nucleus. Replacing Dakota Harris, drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals, will be no easy task, but that job will fall on the shoulders of Jaxon Willits, son of OU associate head coach Reggie Willits.

Willits was rated as the No. 2 prospect in Oklahoma before he committed to the Sooners.

One of the significant additions from the transfer portal to Oklahoma’s lineup is that of the 6-foot-4 Carter Frederick, a transfer from Snead State College. He hit .463 with 14 home runs in 53 games last season.

Oklahoma’s season will come down to how their revamped pitching performs. Offensively, the Sooners are well-rounded with power, speed, situational hitting. They have a nice blend of veteran leadership who has been to the NCAA Tournament and even a few on the team that made it to the championship series in 2022.

Can Oklahoma find its way and somehow push Texas, TCU, and Texas Tech for a final Big 12 title? OU was picked to finish tied for sixth in the Big 12 Baseball Preseason Poll.

It all starts in Arlington on Friday afternoon against the Oregon Ducks. The Sooners hope their season ends in Omaha, Nebraska.

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Oklahoma’s season ends in Charlottesville in 8-5 loss to ECU

Oklahoma was eliminated by the ECU Pirates 8-5 in the NCAA Tournament to end their season Sunday afternoon.

Oklahoma’s 2023 baseball season has come to an end. Oklahoma lost on Sunday in its second elimination game of the Charlottesville Regional to the East Carolina Pirates, 8-5.

Oklahoma entered the day with a tall task ahead of it to advance to the super regionals. It needed to beat ECU and then regional hosts UVA twice. The first step was beating the Pirates, but Oklahoma failed Sunday just as it did when the programs faced off Friday.

ECU cashed in both games with timely hitting with runners in scoring position, whereas Oklahoma failed to convert across both games against ECU. On Sunday, left-hander James Hitt took the mound for the Sooners. Hitt entered the game 6-1 with a 4.50 ERA.

Oklahoma started great, loading the bases and threatening to put up a crooked number. Yet, the Sooners scored only one run, on a sacrifice fly from Anthony McKenzie in the bottom of the first.

Hitt retired the first six batters he faced. The top of the third inning proved much more problematic. ECU plated three runs on RBI singles from Jacob Starlin and Cam Clonch and a fielder’s choice.

Oklahoma produced nothing in response. The Sooners put two runners on with one out in the bottom of the third, but ECU got out of trouble with an inning-ending double play.

After loading the bases with no outs in the bottom of the fourth, Oklahoma lined into a double play. A John Spikerman groundout ended the inning with Oklahoma still down 3-1.

The top of the fifth is when ECU took control. ECU ripped off five runs to build an 8-1 lead. Two of ECU’s best bats, Carter Cunningham and Josh Starling, highlighted the eruptions with an RBI double and an RBI single, respectively.

Oklahoma did its best to answer in the bottom of the fifth. Shortstop Dakota Harris brought in a run with an RBI single. The Sooners made it 8-3 on a balk by Pirates pitcher Wyatt Lunsford-Shenkman.

Easton Carmichael had an RBI double in the seventh, and Bryce Madron homered in the bottom of the ninth to draw the Sooners closes, but it wasn’t enough.

Harris and Madron each finished 3-for-4 at the plate for the Sooners, while Carmichael had two hits.

Oklahoma’s lack of success with runners in scoring position kept it from making this game more competitive. The two missed opportunities with the bases loaded and the third-inning double play were absolutely crushing.

ECU (47-18) takes on Virginia in the regional final. It must win twice to move on to the super regionals.

For Oklahoma (32-28), its season ends in Charlottesville. It heads back to Norman as a team that should be proud of all it accomplished. After a magical run to the 2022 College World Series in Omaha, the team was decimated by the MLB draft and graduations.

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Easton Carmichael earns Big 12 Newcomer of the Week award

For his effort in Oklahoma’s 5-0 week, Easton Carmichael earned Big 12 Newcomer of the Week honors.

Oklahoma Sooners baseball is heating up as they get ready for Big 12 play later this week. The Sooners have won five straight and nine of their last 10 to improve to 11-5 on the season.

Their three-game sweep of future Big 12 foe Houston served as a strong reminder that the College World Series runner-up is still a force to be reckoned with.

Last week, as the Oklahoma Sooners went 5-0, a star emerged in the lineup and behind the plate. Easton Carmichael was phenomenal, and for his efforts picked up the Big 12’s Newcomer of the Week award.

Carmichael went 12 for 21 (.571) with two home runs, two triples, 13 RBIs, and six runs scored. Against Houston, he was 8 for 14 (.571) with a home run, two triples, eight RBIs, and four runs.

It’s Oklahoma’s first weekly award of the 2023 season, but with the way they’re playing, more are sure to follow. Oklahoma now gets set for a midweek matchup with Wichita State before hosting the TCU Horned Frogs to open Big 12 play this weekend.

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Oklahoma ends two game slide, coasts to 7-2 win over Rider

Oklahoma gets out of a two-game slide with a 7-2 win on Saturday against the Rider Broncs.

While the expectations are sky-high for the Oklahoma Sooners following last season’s trip to the College World Series, the Sooners have struggled out of the gate.

Saturday was a step in the right direction, though. Oklahoma bounced back from two consecutive losses to Abilene Christian and Rider with a comfortable 7-2 win Saturday afternoon in Norman, Oklahoma.

Friday’s loss was highlighted by the Sooners leaving 14 runners on base. In a game they lost 6-3, just a bit more execution probably changes the outcome. The Sooners took that loss to heart and responded with seven runs Saturday afternoon.

One player who has been consistent of late, Anthony Mackenzie, kept his hot weekend going by posting a 4 for 5 day. He’s now 8 for 10 in his last two games.

Freshman catcher Easton Carmichael delivered in the biggest way with his three RBI day, setting the tone for the offense. An RBI ground out followed by a two-run single from Carmichael in the bottom of the third provided an immediate answer to Rider, who scored in the top half. The Sooners took the lead, and never looked back.

Shortstop Dakota Harris drove in Mackenzie in the bottom of the 4th to make it 4-1. Part of Mackenzie’s four-hit day included an RBI single in the bottom of the sixth. Oklahoma scored on a sac fly, and Carmichael delivered an RBI triple to push the Sooners out to a 7-1 lead.

The Sooners’ pitching staff was stout from beginning to end. Big right-handed junior Will Carsten started the game and gave Oklahoma a quality start by spreading out three hits, one run, four K’s, and one walk over five innings.

That set the stage for Carson Pierce, a right-handed pitcher originally from Edmond, Oklahoma. He went on to spin four innings of one-run ball himself. He also notched 3 strikeouts in the process.

Oklahoma coasted to a comfortable win Saturday and now sit at 3-5 on the season. In the win, Oklahoma stranded nine runners on base. That’s something they’ll want to improve as they get deeper into the schedule.

The Sooners will look to win their first series of the year on Sunday afternoon as they battle Rider in the rubber match of the series. First pitch is scheduled for 1 pm C.T. at L. Dale Mitchell Stadium.

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