Tag: Jake Bennett

Sooners shortstop Peyton Graham taken No. 51 overall by the Detroit Tigers in the MLB draft

Oklahoma Sooners’ star shortstop Peyton Graham was taken 51st overall by the Detroit Tigers in the 2022 MLB draft.

The Oklahoma Sooners had a good night on Sunday during the 2022 MLB draft, with three players selected in the top 51 picks. First, it was Cade Horton who went No. 7 overall to the Chicago Cubs, and Jake Bennett went Nol. 45 overall to the Washington Nationals. Capping off the weekend was the Oklahoma Sooners’ star shortstop Peyton Graham.

Graham was selected No. 51 overall in the second round by the Detroit Tigers.

“He’s got dynamic athleticism,” head coach Skip Johnson said. “There’s nothing that he can’t do on a baseball field. He can run, he can throw, he can hit. He’s got power, he’s got instincts to play the game, instincts to run the bases. He’s got every tool that you can imagine. For him, the ceiling is incredible. (The Tigers are getting) an all-star. A superstar that’s going to play a long time. He loves to compete. He wins every competitive thing we do on the field, whether it’s outfield, pop-ups, bunting – he’s going to win all of them because he’s so competitive.”

Graham hit .335 for the Oklahoma Sooners with 20 home runs, 71 RBIs, and 75 runs scored.

[listicle id=67403]

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbz7cqqgxy50qwt player_id=none image=https://soonerswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. Let us know your thoughts, comment on this story below. Join the conversation today.

Oklahoma Sooners P Jake Bennett selected No. 45 overall by the Washington Nationals

Oklahoma Sooners starting pitcher Jake Bennett taken No. 45 overall by the Washington Nationals in the Major League Baseball draft.

After Cade Horton went to the Chicago Cubs with the No. 7 overall pick, the Oklahoma Sooners No. 1 starter in the rotation Jake Bennett also came off the board in the second round with the No. 45 pick to the Washington Nationals.

Bennett, like Horton, had a great postseason, helping the Sooners advance through the College World Series to the final against Ole Miss.

Bennett went 10-4 with a 3.69 ERA in 20 starts, striking out 133 batters in 117 innings pitched in 2022.

“They’re going to get a professional type of kid that understands what routines are, understands what pitchability is, understands the work that it takes to put in,” head coach Skip Johnson said about Bennett. “He’s like the poster child of our program. Came in as a freshman – body changed, delivery changed, makeup changed, command – everything you can think of from a pitcher, he did well in it. He’s going to be an innings eater in pro ball. He posted up every time, every outing all year long. I think there were maybe one or two guys all year that did that throughout the year. Every week he posted up and pitched once a week. That right there tells you he’s going to eat innings. He’s very routine-oriented, a lot like – I’m not saying he’s ever going to be Clayton Kershaw at all – but there are some similarities between what Clayton does and what Jake does. He’s stuck in his routines and he’s going to make sure he does those things diligently. Making sure he does his arm exercises the right way, making sure he does his running, making sure he does his lifting. He’s going to be really on top of all of those little things as a professional.”

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbz7cqqgxy50qwt player_id=none image=https://soonerswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. Let us know your thoughts, comment on this story below. Join the conversation today.

Peyton Graham, Jake Bennett, Trevin Michael bring home D1Baseball All-American honors

After a tremendous 2022 season, three Oklahoma Sooners were named to D1 Baseball’s All-American teams.

Though the 2022 season didn’t end the way they’d hope, the Oklahoma Sooners were fantastic, going on a two-month run where they were arguably the best team in baseball. That run was halted by Ole Miss in the College World Series championship, but that shouldn’t take away from the tremendous performance they put on in 2022.

And for their efforts this season, three Oklahoma Sooners were awarded All-American honors by D1Baseball. Peyton Graham, who hit .335 with 20 home runs and 71 RBIs was named to the first team. Jake Bennett and Trevin Michael were named second-team All-Americans.

Bennett went 10-3, with a 3.66 ERA, one save, 123 strikeouts, and just 22 walks in 110.2 innings pitched. He also allowed a .236 opponents batting average on the season.

Michael went 4-1 with 10 saves and a 2.66 ERA in 71 innings pitched. He struck out 95 batters, walked 20, and allowed an opponent’s batting average of .206.

Oklahoma was one of two teams to have three All-American selections along with Oregon State. Tennessee led the way with four selections.

[listicle id=66154]

Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. Let us know your thoughts, comment on this story below. Join the conversation today.

Photos from Oklahoma’s 10-3 game 1 loss to Ole Miss in the College World Series final

Some of the best photos from Oklahoma’s game one loss to the Ole Miss Rebels in the College World Series final.

Little went right for the Oklahoma Sooners in game one of the College World Series finals against Ole Miss. The Rebels jumped ahead early with the aide of some Sooners’ miscues and a home run by Tim Elko that pushed the lead to 4-0 in the early going.

Oklahoma would cut the lead in half in the sixth inning but squandered an opportunity to do more damage when they came away with just one run with the bases loaded and nobody out.

But credit is due to Ole Miss reliever Mason Nichols who entered with the bases loaded and nobody out and surrendered only the one run on a bases-loaded walk.

Going into game two, the Oklahoma Sooners will turn to Cade Horton to help them pull the series even with Ole Miss and force a deciding game three on Monday.

Early mistakes, late homers sink Oklahoma in CWS championship game 1 loss to Ole Miss

Oklahoma struggled out of the gate with wild pitches and a costly error to fall behind Ole Miss who then erupted late with back-to-back-to-back home runs to take game 1 10-3.

The Oklahoma Sooners had been on a roll coming into this College World Series finals. Undefeated in the CWS, the Sooners had been playing as well as anyone for two months. That didn’t show up in game one of the College World Series finals against Ole Miss. The Sooners drop game one 10-3.

Oklahoma struggled with early jitters in this one as pitcher Jake Bennett’s control was off, leading to three wild pitches to go along with an error in the field that helped Ole Miss jump out to a 3-0 lead. Oklahoma couldn’t get

Though he gave up a home run to fall behind 4-0, Bennett settled in and pitched well to get Oklahoma into the sixth inning, where they finally did some damage at the plate.

Heading into the sixth, Ole Miss pitcher Jack Dougherty had been perfect for the Rebels. But the Sooners started to make things happen with three hits in a row to lead off the inning and scoring their first run off Kendall Pettis’ bunt single. With runners on first and second and nobody out, John Spikerman walked to load the bases for Peyton Graham, who struck out swinging on four pitches. Ole Miss reliever Mason Nichols followed up his strikeout of Graham by striking out Blake Robertson, and after Tanner Tredaway walked in a run, Jimmy Crooks grounded out to the pitcher to end the bases-loaded threat.

A scoreless seventh from Bennett and relief pitcher Chazz Martinez gave the Sooners the shutdown inning they needed to try and further cut into the Ole Miss lead.

But Mason Nichols wouldn’t allow it, striking out the Sooners to keep the Rebels ahead by two. But that two-run lead would balloon to eight when T.J. McCants, Calvin Harris, and Justin Bench hit back-to-back-to-back home runs to put the Sooners in a massive deficit.

Oklahoma added a run in the eighth to make it 8-3, but Ole Miss responded with two more in the ninth to put the game away for the 10-3 win. Now the Sooners turn to Cade Horton, hoping to bounce back to tie the series at one game a piece.

Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. Let us know your thoughts, comment on this story below. Join the conversation today.

Oklahoma Sooners vs. Ole Miss: How to watch, stream, listen and key players of College World Series championship

The Oklahoma Sooners face the Ole Miss Rebels in the College World Series final, here are the key players and how you can tune in.

After getting snubbed from hosting a regional site in the NCAA tournament, the Oklahoma Sooners went out and proved just how wrong the selection committee was. After winning the Big 12 tournament title, the Sooners went 8-2 in the NCAA tournament, including 3-0 in the College World Series to advance to the championship series for the first time since 1994.

Oklahoma advanced with an incredible offensive display that featured long bombs and clutch two-out hitting. The pitching staff settled in nicely, especially in the College World Series, where Jake Bennett, Cade Horton, and David Sandlin combined to allow just seven runs in their three starts.

Now the Sooners get set to face another unseeded team in the Ole Miss Rebels who finished tied for last place with Vanderbilt and were eliminated in the single-elimination round of the SEC tournament.

The Rebels though turned it around in the NCAA tournament, sweeping the Coral Gables regional and their Super Regional matchup with Ole Miss. In the College World Series, Ole Miss beat Arkansas two out of three times in low-scoring affairs to advance to the championship series of the College World Series against the Oklahoma Sooners.

As we get set for the College World Series final, here’s where you can catch the action.

  • Schedule:
    • Game 1: Saturday, June 25, 2022, at 5 p.m. CT
    • Game 2: Sunday, June 26, 2022, at 1 p.m. CT
    • Game 3 (if necessary): Monday, June 27, 2022 at 5 p.m. CT.
  • TV Channel: ESPN
  • Live Stream: fuboTV (watch for free)
  • Radio Broadcast: The game can be heard on 99.3 FM and 1400 AM KREF in Oklahoma and nationwide on The Varsity app.

Oklahoma vs. Ole Miss

Players to watch:

Oklahoma Sooners

[autotag]Tanner Tredaway[/autotag]: .379 batting average with 9 home runs, 65 RBIs, 18 walks, and 24 stolen bases.

[autotag]Peyton Graham[/autotag]: .344 batting average with 20 home runs, 71 RBIs, 28 walks, and 34 stolen bases.

[autotag]John Spikerman[/autotag]: .327 batting average with 2 home runs, 15 RBIs, 21 walks, and 12 stolen bases.

[autotag]Jimmy Crooks[/autotag]: .311 batting average with 9 home runs, 51 RBIs, 43 walks, and 10 stolen bases.

[autotag]Blake Robertson[/autotag]: .304 batting average with 5 home runs, 51 RBIs, 68 walks, and 12 stolen bases.

[autotag]Kendall Pettis[/autotag]: .260 batting average with 5 home runs, 26 RBIs, 31 walks, and 22 stolen bases.

[autotag]Jackson Nicklaus[/autotag]: .288 batting average with 11 home runs, 35 RBIs, 34 walks, and 6 stolen bases.

[autotag]Jake Bennett[/autotag]: 10-3 with a 3.66 ERA, 123 strikeouts, and 22 walks allowed in 110.2 innings pitched.

[autotag]Trevin Michael[/autotag]: 4-1 with a 2.66 ERA, 95 strikeouts, 20 walks allowed, and 10 saves in 67 innings pitched.

[autotag]Cade Horton[/autotag]: 5-2 with a 5.24 ERA, 51 strikeouts, and 15 walks allowed in 46.1 innings pitched.

[autotag]David Sandlin[/autotag]: 9-4 with a 5.59 ERA, 102 strikeouts, and 31 walks in 95 innings pitched.

Ole Miss Rebels

Justin Bench: .316 batting average with 3 home runs, 40 RBIs, 25 walks.

Tim Elko: .294 batting average with 23 home runs, 74 RBIs, 43 walks.

Kemp Alderman: .287 batting average with 11 home runs, 45 RBIs, 29 walks.

Jacob Gonzalez: .269 batting average with 17 home runs, 50 RBIs, 49 walks.

Hunter Elliott: 5-3 with a 2.70 ERA, 96 strikeouts, and 32 walks allowed in 73.1 innings pitched.

Dylan DeLucia: 8-2 with a 3.68 ERA, 105 strikeouts, and 26 walks allowed in 95.1 innings pitched.

[vertical-gallery id=65946]

Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. Let us know your thoughts, comment on this story below. Join the conversation today.

Social Media Reacts to Oklahoma’s 5-1 win over Texas A&M to advance to CWS final

Social Media reacts as the Oklahoma Sooners beat Texas A&M 5-1 to advance to the College World Series.

David Sandlin’s performance was a bounceback for the ages. In game two of the Blacksburg Super Regional, Sandlin lasted just 3.2 innings and allowed five earned runs. He came in for a third of an inning against the Aggies on Friday night in the Sooners’ 13-8 win but didn’t last long before giving way to Trevin Michael.

On a day when the Sooners needed “the Sandman” the most, he showed up ready to dominate and put the Aggies right to sleep by striking out the side in the top of the first inning. He shook off his last two outings to put on a masterpiece, striking out 12 Aggies and throwing seven innings of one-run ball. The only run for Texas A&M, a solo shot to start the sixth inning. Sandlin then retired the next six batters before Michael came in and pitched two innings to finish off Texas A&M.

His effort propelled the Sooners into the College World Series final for the first time in nearly 30 years. It was an outing for the ages for Sandlin who was helped by Jimmy Crooks’ three-run home run in the first inning.

The Oklahoma Sooners are heading to the College World Series final and will face the winner of the other semifinal Arkansas or Ole Miss. But before we enjoy more College World Series baseball, let’s revel in the Sooners 5-1 win with the best reactions from social media.

5 takeaways from Oklahoma’s 2-0 start in the College World Series

With their two wins, the Oklahoma Sooners moved over .500 all-time in the College World Series, beating Texas A&M and Notre Dame and are 1 win away from the CWS championship.

It’s been more than a decade since the Oklahoma Sooners graced the streets of Omaha for the College World Series. Playing as well as any team coming in, the Sooners have taken full advantage of their opportunity to make a run at the national title with wins over Texas A&M and Notre Dame.

The Sooner have gotten standout pitching performances, have put on power displays at the plate, and displayed a versatility that makes them difficult to get out for opposing pitchers.

Skip Johnson has this group of youngsters playing fantastic and the aggressive style of play has put Oklahoma one win away from reaching the College World Series championship series.

While they await the winner of the elimination game between the Fighting Irish and the Aggies, the Sooners get a much-deserved break. They’ll take on the winner on Wednesday in the semifinal matchup.

With a couple days till Oklahoma next takes the field, here are five takeaways from their 2-0 start to the College World Series.

Peyton Graham ESPN’s No. 2 MLB prospect in the 2022 College World Series

Heading into the College World Series, Peyton Graham was ranked the No. 2 prospect according to ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel.

The Oklahoma Sooners have been playing as well as anyone over the last two months. Winners of five straight series to close the regular season, the Big 12 tournament title, and now one win away from the College World Series championship, Oklahoma has defied the odds and played like the best team in college baseball.

At the forefront of their incredible run is shortstop Peyton Graham. In the midst of a 16-game hitting streak dating back more than a month, Graham has been the centerpiece of the Sooners’ offense. Over that span, he’s hit seven home runs and collected 22 RBIs.

Heading into the College World Series, Graham was rated the No. 2 prospect by ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel (ESPN+). Joining Graham on the list were Jake Bennett at No. 7, Jimmy Crooks at No. 8, and Cade Horton at No. 14. Here’s what McDaniel had to say about Graham.

Graham is similar to Tim Anderson of the White Sox. Both are slim-framed shortstops with excellent tools who are limited a bit by swinging too often. Graham has a shot, buoyed by a better approach down the stretch, to sneak in the 20 to 30 range. Bennett is in the second or third round with some reliever questions but above average stuff from the left side. Crooks is also in that mix with a solid approach and sure hands behind the plate. Cade Horton is a round behind them with outstanding stuff, but still needs more refinement given a recent Tommy John surgery, two-way play and a football background. Second baseman Jackson Nicklaus (2024) is another potential early-round prospect. – McDaniel, ESPN

Graham has been on a tear over the last several months. His 20 home runs, 71 RBIs, and 34 stolen bases RBIs lead the Oklahoma Sooners. On Sunday night, in Oklahoma’s win over Notre Dame, he accomplished something that hadn’t been done since the 1980s.

Graham is a 20-20 threat at the Major League level. He’s put on display an ability to get on base and hit for average in the NCAA tournament and fighting off the perceived struggles with breaking pitches.

Oklahoma is on the verge of making its historic run into the College World Series championship and Peyton Graham has been a huge part of it. As Oklahoma gets deeper into the tournament, more and more baseball fans are going to become familiar with the Sooners standout before he moves onto what will be a promising Major League Baseball career.

[listicle id=65689]

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbz7cqqgxy50qwt player_id=none image=https://soonerswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. Let us know your thoughts, comment on this story below. Join the conversation today.

Tale of the Tape: Individual Leaders – Notre Dame vs. Oklahoma

Do you take the Irish’s leaders or the Sooners’?

Notre Dame gets to play Oklahoma in its next College World Series game, and it might have an advantage as far as balance. Sure, you have [autotag]Carter Putz [/autotag]pacing the Irish in both runs scored and RBIs, and [autotag]Jack Findlay[/autotag] is terrific at keeping runs off the board and closing games. However, you have a variety of names after that. [autotag]David LaManna[/autotag] hits well for average, [autotag]Jack Zyska[/autotag] provides the power, and [autotag]Ryan Cole[/autotag] is a menace on the basepaths.

For the Sooners, it’s mainly one guy apiece on the hitting and pitching sides. One of them is shortstop Peyton Graham, who is projected to be taken early in the upcoming MLB draft. Also getting ready for the draft is left-handed pitcher Jake Bennett, who won’t be available after starting and winning the Sooners’ last game against Texas A&M. Although not listed in the above chart, make sure you’re on the lookout for catcher Jimmy Crooks, too.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89