Tag: OU Baseball

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.

Fridayโ€™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. Heโ€™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 Mackenzieโ€™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 Kโ€™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 theyโ€™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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Oklahoma Sooners ace Jake Bennett named Big 12 Pitcher of the Week

After dominating Kansas State with 11 strikeouts, Oklahoma’s Jake Bennett was named Big 12 Pitcher of the Week.

No pitcher in the Big 12 had more strikeouts than Oklahoma’s ace Jake Bennett did last week. Bennett was rewarded with the Big 12 Pitcher of the Week award after his seven-inning outing against the Kansas State Wildcats.

Bennett was nothing short of dominant against the Wildcats, throwing seven shutout innings with 11 strikeouts in OU’s 14-2 win.

The Sooners’ ace has been a steadying presence on an Oklahoma pitching staff that is still struggling to find consistency, particularly in the bullpen.

The tall sophomore now sits at 4-2 on the season with a 3.29 ERA for the crimson and cream. OU now has back-to-back series wins in Big 12 play.

The Sooners will have Bennett back in action against the TCU Horned Frogs as OU travels to Fort Worth to take on the second-place team in the Big 12. Their three-game series will begin on May 6.

Oklahoma is currently fourth in the conference. A series win here could be enough to jump third-place Texas Tech, depending on how things go in the Red Raiders series against conference leader Oklahoma State.

The Sooners still have a series against Texas Tech on the schedule this season. Those games will be huge for conference tournament positioning when the two teams meet in Lubbock.

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