Sooners cruise to a 14-0 win over Oral Roberts to open NCAA Tournament play

Kyson Witherspoon and Carter Campbell combined for the shutout and the Sooners offense erupted for a 14-0 win over Oral Roberts in the NCAA tournament.

It was the first time the Oklahoma Sooners hosted postseason baseball at L. Dale Mitchell Park in Norman since 2010, and the boys in Crimson and Cream were ready to rock and roll from the opening pitch.

Oklahoma entered the NCAA Tournament fresh off a loss to their in-state rivals, the Oklahoma State Cowboys, in the Big 12 Tournament Championship game. However, with how the Sooners have played since conference play began, bouncing back was easy for them.

Their first opponent was an Oral Roberts team that the Sooners had already faced this season, splitting a pair of midweek games.

Kyson Witherspoon got the start. Oklahoma opted to save Braden Davis in case the Sooners were in the loser’s bracket or had to face Duke.

Witherspoon escaped early danger, stranding the bases loaded to end the first. Oklahoma immediately opened things up with a triple from centerfielder John Spikerman and a Bryce Madron sac fly. Madron returned to the starting lineup after sitting out the Big 12 tournament to rest an injury from the end of the regular season.

 

With the Sooners up 1-0, they never looked back. Witherspoon worked around two runners in the second and third innings to hold the Golden Eagles scoreless.

In the bottom of the third, Madron let the rest of the home crowd know he was healthy as he blasted a two-run home run to right field, giving OU a 3-0 lead.

After some clean innings from Witherspoon, Oklahoma opened the game up on an Easton Carmichael three-run home run to make it a 6-0 game.

Witherspoon finished his day tossing six innings of shutout ball. He struck out nine batters and sat down the last ten batters he faced. Simply, it was a dazzling performance in his NCAA Tournament debut.

Oklahoma continued to pile on runs the rest of the way. Scott Mudler hit a solo home run and had a two-run single. Spikerman had a two-run single. And Jackson Nicklaus added an RBI single himself.

Carter Campbell finished the pitching from the seventh inning onward and kept things spotless, giving up no runs to complete a dominant performance from the Sooners.

It’s hard to imagine Skip Johnson drawing up a more perfect opening game. Minimal pitchers were used, and the team showed tremendous discipline at the plate, which made Oral Roberts pay for mistakes in the form of 17 hits.

Oklahoma will advance to the winner’s bracket and will face UConn tomorrow at 8 p.m. local time under the lights. The winner of that game will be just one win away from clinching a spot in the Super Regionals.

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Skip Johnson wins Big 12 Coach of the Year, 12 Sooners earn conference accolades

After a fantastic season, Skip Johnson was named Big 12 Coach of the Year and 12 Sooners received Big 12 honors.

The Oklahoma Sooners baseball team has had a remarkable season in 2024. They were picked to finish fifth in the Big 12 in the preseason poll and went on to win the conference’s regular season title.

Oklahoma finished the year 34-18 and 23-7 in Big 12 play and 2.5 games up on Oklahoma State in the regular season race. The Sooners clinched the conference title with a three-game sweep of the Baylor Bears on the second to last weekend of the season.

After their incredible season, Oklahoma Sooners manager Skip Johnson was named Big 12 Coach of the Year on Monday. It was the Sooners first Big 12 regular season title in school history.

Michael Snyder, who led the league in batting average during conference play earned first-team All-Big 12 honors. So did DH Easton Carmichael and sophomore pitcher Braden Davis. Carmichael led the Sooners in batting average on the year, hitting .363 with four triples, six home runs, and 59 RBIs. Davis was 8-3 on the season, but 7-1 in Big 12 play and earned two Big 12 Pitcher of the Week awards during the season.

Earning second-team honors were outfielder Bryce Madron and pitcher Kyson Witherspoon.

Madron led the league with 65 runs scored and finished in the top 10 in conference play in runs scored, RBIs, total bases, slugging percentage, and stolen bases. On the season, he paced Oklahoma with 11 home runs.

Witherspoon was 6-1 in Big 12 play and 7-3 on the season. He leads the team with a 4.24 ERA and 75 strikeouts in 70 innings.

Jaxon Willits earned Big 12 Freshman of the Year after hitting .341 in conference play.

Reliever Carter Campbell, utility player Anthony Mackenzie, catcher Scott Mudler, infielder Jackson Nicklaus, outfielder John Spikerman, and Willits earned Big 12 honorable mention honors.

The Sooners now get ready for the Big 12 tournament, which begins on Tuesday in Arlington. Oklahoma’s first game comes Wednesday.

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Transfer portal is helping fill Oklahoma’s pitching holes

Skip Johnson has wasted little time fortifying his pitching staff after a 2023 season in which Oklahoma ranked No. 151 in team ERA.

Oklahoma’s 2023 season was a rough one. Fresh off their trip to the final of the 2022 College World Series, the Sooners came into the 2023 season looking for similar success. Sure, they lost a lot of guys to the draft and graduation, but it’s hard to imagine that the returning players felt that they couldn’t make a run to the College World Series again.

However, titles aren’t decided on paper. Aside from a mid-season run, Oklahoma started the season flat and fizzled out early in the Big 12 tournament. The Sooners snuck into the NCAA tournament as the second-to-last tournament team. They bowed out after losing two games in the Charlottesville regional.

The constant in almost every loss for the Sooners this year? Pitching.

Oklahoma’s pitching from the beginning of the season to the end never really held up its end of the bargain. Oklahoma finished the season No. 151 nationally in team ERA allowing 5.95 runs per game. Seven of the eight finalists that made it to Omaha this season were in the top 50 in team ERA.

Pitching is the great equalizer; it can fill in many gaps for teams and propel them to new heights.

Skip Johnson and the Sooners coaching staff has made a concerted effort this offseason to add to their pitching staff, landing five transfer pitchers to Oklahoma’s roster for next year.

Oklahoma landed a pair of transfers from Wichita State in Jace Miner and Austin Henry, JUCO transfers Malachi and Kyson Witherspoon, and a recent commitment from Texas Tech transfer righty Brendan Girton.

Oklahoma saw firsthand what Miner and Girton could do as both pitched against Oklahoma this season. Girton pitched four innings of one one-hit ball with four strikeouts in April. Miner faced Oklahoma three times in 5.2 innings of work, allowing zero runs.

Henry may have the highest ceiling. He was a top 75 prospect out of high school. His pedigree is incredibly impressive. He could eventually be a weekend starter at some point next season.

The Witherspoon twins feature nice repertoires and will be essential options for the staff. Both throw low to mid-90 fastballs.

Oklahoma’s only way to continue to push forward as a baseball program, especially as they prepare to move to the SEC, is to construct the caliber of rosters the SEC has.

Three of the eight teams to make it to Omaha this season were from the SEC. The championship series features LSU and Florida. Both teams are potent offensive juggernauts but remain balanced with top 50 pitching and MLB quality arms in the rotation and out of the bullpen. Oklahoma’s blueprint to success is right in front of them.

Skip Johnson sees it. And if this summer is any indication, Johnson is determined to turn a weakness into a strength.

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