Tag: Skip Johnson

Oklahoma falls to Texas State 5-2, six-game winning streak snapped

Oklahoma baseball fell to Texas State 5-2 on Wednesday night to have their six-game winning streak come to an end just before Big 12 play.

Oklahoma baseball entered Wednesday night on a six-game winning streak behind consistently supreme offensive output and improved pitching over the past week. The stretch was easily their best of the season as the team looked to have really started to find their stride just about a month into the new campaign.

Unfortunately for the Sooners, that successful run would come to an end at the hands of Texas State on Wednesday night in a 5-2 Bobcats win. It had been quite some time, but the bats finally cooled off for a night where they were unable to get much going.

Getting the start was right-hander Javier Ramos, who was sharp in his two innings of work not allowing a hit and striking out a pair. Ben Abram would relieve him in the third and would run into some trouble in his second inning out of the bullpen. He allowed two runs to cross in the fourth inning which put Oklahoma in a deficit they would never climb out of, giving Abram his first loss of the year to go to 1-1.

The Sooners would get one of those runs back right away in the top of the fifth on an RBI single by catcher Jimmy Crooks. His grounder up the middle scored left fielder Kendall Pettis all the way from first base. The Bobcats, however, would immediately push their lead back to two in the bottom half of the frame on a solo home run by right fielder Jose Gonzalez.

A two-run homer by Texas State shortstop Justin Thompson in the seventh extended their lead to 5-1 and seemingly put the game away, but Oklahoma would not go quietly into the night.

In the ninth, first baseman Tyler Hardman picked up a run-scoring triple to narrow the deficit to 5-2. Then, the Sooners managed to get two more runners on to load the bases with two outs for the designated hitter Logan Kohler. But, alas, Kohler popped out to shallow center to extinguish the rally and end the game.

The loss is the first in ten days for Skip Johnson’s club, and dips them down to 12-8 on the year. Now, after a day off, come some very important games for Oklahoma as Big 12 play opens on Friday against rival Texas.

An off game in the middle of the week against a lesser opponent right before a big series is not exactly unheard of, and shouldn’t be too much cause for concern as long as they bounce back with a good weekend in Austin. These games happen a lot over the course of the college baseball season.

Game one of the Red River Showdown baseball series is set for Friday night at 7:00 p.m. CT.

Oklahoma moves win streak to five straight with 19-1 domination of Houston

Oklahoma baseball moved their win streak to five straight on Saturday with a 19-1 domination of Houston.

Oklahoma baseball has seemingly started to find their stride recently as they entered Saturday’s game against Houston on a four-game winning streak. Offensively, the Sooners have been firing on all cylinders and that continued in a major way in the second matchup of the three-game set with the Cougars.

Skip Johnson’s club put up a ridiculous 19 runs on 20 hits to crush their way to a fifth consecutive win and take the series. Not only was the offense superb, but left-handed starter Jake Bennett was sensational as well. He tossed six shutout innings allowing only two hits and striking out six. He picked up the win to keep his strong season going to move to 3-1 on the year.

After a scoreless first inning for Oklahoma, they would strike for the first time in the second on a sacrifice fly by right fielder Breydon Daniel. The next three innings would be where the Sooners would do the vast majority of their damage.

They put up four in the third highlighted by an RBI double by center fielder Tanner Tredaway and a two-RBI two-bagger by shortstop Brandon Zaragoza. They would score five more runs in the next frame started by a towering shot by third baseman Peyton Graham off the scoreboard in left center. Then, finally, they would tack on six (!) more in the fifth frame highlighted by a two-RBI double by second baseman Conor McKenna and three-run triple by Daniel.

Jace Bohrofen would enter as a pinch hitter in the seventh and tack on a three-run bomb to right field to bring the total up to 19 runs. It was yet another humongous offensive display put on by Oklahoma to keep the good times rolling.

Houston would pick up a run on a single in the eighth inning for their lone run of the day off of Carson Atwood. The run went in as unearned, so the Sooners as a staff didn’t give up a single earned run on the day. Braxton Webb would pick up the final three outs to finish things off in the ninth.

The win moves Oklahoma to 11-7 on the season as they continue to stack wins and build momentum. It sure seems like the team has found something at the perfect time with Big 12 play beginning next weekend.

The Sooners will look for a sixth straight win and a series sweep in the finale against the Cougars tomorrow at noon CT.

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Oklahoma knocks off Houston 7-2, raises win streak to four straight

Oklahoma baseball returned to L. Dale Mitchell Park on Friday and knocked off Houston 7-2 to move their win streak to four straight games.

Oklahoma baseball has returned to home soil after an ultra brief road trip for a three game home series with Houston. The Sooners got things started off on the right foot with a 7-2 win over the Cougars on Friday night.

The storyline of the game was the resurgence of No. 1 starter Wyatt Olds, who had a sorely-needed good outing after some tough trips to the mound in recent weeks. He tossed six very solid innings allowing just one run and racking up ten strikeouts. He earned his first win of the season for his efforts.

After the teams traded runs in the second inning, catcher Jimmy Crooks gave Oklahoma the lead in the third on a solo home run down the right field line. The score would stick at 2-1 through the fifth inning.

In the sixth, the Sooners would plate three key runs to give themselves some much appreciated breathing room. Shortstop Brandon Zaragoza knocked in two on a single and Crooks tacked on an other RBI with a single through the right side.

Second baseman Conor McKenna would provide some insurance in the bottom of the eighth with a two-run single of his own, with Jason Ruffcorn coming in in a non-save situation to lock things down in the ninth.

The win moves Oklahoma to 10-7 on the season as it really feels like the team is starting to gain some serious momentum. The Olds outing is obviously hugely welcomed as it feels instrumental that he get himself going for the team to reach their full potential. This was a really good sign from him.

Offensively, the team continued to consistently find ways to put runs on the board. More often than not, seven runs is going to win you baseball games. The bats have been working for awhile now with no signs of stopping.

Game two of the series will be tomorrow at 2:00 p.m. CT back at L. Dale Mitchell Park.

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Oklahoma gets statement win in 8-5 upset of No. 1 Arkansas

Oklahoma picked up a huge statement win on Tuesday night upsetting No. 1 Arkansas on the road in Fayetteville.

Well, this one seems noteworthy.

Oklahoma returned to the diamond on Tuesday night for a date with the No. 1 team in the nation at their place looking to pull off a win many didn’t give them a whole lot of a chance to go get. But, the Sooners did just that going into Fayetteville to knock off the No. 1 Arkansas Razorbacks 8-5 at Baum-Walker Stadium.

Getting the ball for Skip Johnson was left-hander Braden Carmichael who entered the season with a 2-0 record and a 3.27 ERA as one of the more underrated Sooners starters. He would gut out six innings on a night where the team really needed it to try and get the win.

Things didn’t start off great for him, allowing two runs in the first on a pair of run-scoring singles. Things would settle down for him after that, though, as he would toss the next four innings scoreless.

The big inning of the night for Oklahoma offensively came in the third when they plated five runs on a two-RBI single by left fielder Kendall Pettis, a two-run home run by right fielder Breydon Daniel and a run-scoring knock by third baseman Peyton Graham. They would not relinquish the lead the rest of the way.

The Sooners would push their lead from three to six over the next few innings scoring a run in the fourth on a sacrifice fly from center fielder Tanner Tredaway with the other two coming in the sixth on a wild pitch that plated a run and an RBI-single by designated hitter Diego Muniz.

Carmichael wasn’t quite able to close out his outing on a high note, as he allowed a two-run homer in the bottom of the sixth to chop the Oklahoma lead down to 8-4. He would still go on to get the win to move to 3-0 on the year.

Arkansas would draw a little closer on a solo home run in the eighth off of Jaret Godman, but still trailed by three runs going to the bottom of the ninth against the preseason All-American closer Jason Ruffcorn.

Things started shaky for Ruffcorn, allowing the first two men to reach and bring the tying run to the dish, but he would settle in quickly. He would strike out the next three Razorbacks hitters to slam the door to earn his first save of the season and give the Sooners the humongous statement win on the road.

Now at 9-7, the team has to have a confidence they haven’t had yet this season. This is far and away their most impressive win to date and could certainly be a spark plug to the team finding their groove at the right time with conference play rapidly approaching. Simply put, this was absolutely big time and should silence some of the panic from the fans at least momentarily moving forward.

Oklahoma will come right back to home soil for a weekend set with Houston beginning Friday night at L. Dale Mitchell Park.

Oklahoma keeps bats hot in 9-1 blowout of Arkansas State to split doubleheader

Oklahoma kept the bats rolling in a 9-1 blowout of Arkansas State Sunday night to split their doubleheader and get back to .500.

Oklahoma dropped the first game of Sunday’s doubleheader with Arkansas State in a 15-14 slugfest where they seemingly couldn’t find a way to throw a clean inning. The second game of the day was a different story.

The Sooners kept the bats rolling putting up nine more runs, but were delivered a sorely-needed clutch start from left-hander Jake Bennett who tossed five solid innings allowing just one run and two hits while striking out six. He picked up the win for his effort to go to 2-1 on the year.

Oklahoma never had one overly huge inning, instead just steadily keeping things moving all night long. In fact, they scored in every single inning except for the bottom of the eighth.

Second baseman Conor McKenna picked up an RBI double in the first to get the ball rolling, then shortstop Brandon Zaragoza drove in a run on a fielder’s choice in the second. Center fielder Tanner Tredaway and third baseman Peyton Graham each picked up run-scoring hits in the next two innings to keep the lead growing.

In the fifth, Connor Beichler had an two-RBI double followed by another driven in on a Zaragoza knock for the Sooners biggest inning of the day with three runs in the frame. Left fielder Diego Muniz and McKenna would both get RBI hits before games end to bring the final score to 9-1.

After Bennett’s solid five innings of work, Jaret Godman and Carson Carter teamed up to dominate the final four innings throwing two each and allowing one total hit and striking out seven. The bullpen shut the door in a major way on Sunday night.

Now at 7-7, Oklahoma has a chance to take the series and get back above .500 in the rubber match on Monday afternoon. First pitch is set for 1:00 p.m. CT at L. Dale Mitchell Park.

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Oklahoma drops front end of doubleheader to Arkansas State in 15-14 shootout

Oklahoma dropped the front end of a doubleheader to Arkansas State 15-14 on Sunday in Norman.

Oklahoma Sooners baseball is back on the diamond on Sunday with a doubleheader against Arkansas State out of the Sun Belt. The series was originally set to be a traditional Friday-Sunday weekend set, but it was altered due to weather in the area.

The first game of the day was another slugfest for the Sooners, who have seen that a lot in the early part of the season as the offense has been dynamite as of late with the pitching continuing to struggle. Once again, Oklahoma ace pitcher Wyatt Olds had a rough day giving up six earned runs over his four innings pitched.

The Sooners faced a 7-0 deficit at the midway point of the third inning, again in a big early hole to attempt to climb their way out of. They would do a pretty darn good job it, though, as they came right back with a huge six-run bottom of the third to bring things to 7-6 behind home runs from first baseman Tyler Hardman and center fielder Tanner Tredaway.

But, unfortunately for Oklahoma, they couldn’t keep the Red Wolves offense down as they would put five more runs across in the fifth and sixth innings to gain a 12-6 lead.

The Sooners would not go down quietly though as they again managed to get the bats going and go on another rally. They would put up two runs in the seventh to cut the deficit to 12-8, before Arkansas State got those right back in the top of the 8th to push things to 14-8.

Oklahoma would immediately respond with five runs in the bottom half of the inning highlighted by home runs from third baseman Peyton Graham and catcher Jimmy Crooks. The game stood at 14-13 heading to the final inning.

The Red Wolves would add an insurance run that turned out to be large, as the Sooners could only muster up one run in the bottom of the ninth in response to fall by a 15-14 final. Needless to say, the pitching seriously failed Skip Johnson’s club in this one.

The team absolutely wouldn’t give up and continued to battle and rally all game long but it just ended up being not quite enough. Allowing 15 runs is obviously incredibly difficult to overcome and they almost found a way to do it, but it all goes down the same as another loss.

Something that may get lost in the all the offense and the loss, Hardman was absolutely sensational on the afternoon hitting for the cycle in his five hits with four RBIs. He showcased himself as one of the better hitters on the team in this one, albeit in a losing effort.

Now at 6-7, they’ll try to keep the bats going but figure out the pitching in the second end of the doubleheader in Norman.

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Oklahoma bats have big night in 15-5 win over UT-Arlington

Oklahoma has a big night behind the plate scoring 15 runs to knock off UT-Arlington and move back to .500 on the young season at 6-6.

Oklahoma baseball returned to the diamond on their home soil on Tuesday night hosting UT-Arlington in a rematch of their game at Globe Life Field a couple of weeks ago. Similar to that night, the Sooners played well virtually all around to pick up the victory.

Things didn’t start off especially strong for Oklahoma, though, as starting pitcher Javier Ramos had a rough opening frame allowing four Mavericks runs. He would bounce back with a solid second inning to conclude his day after just six recorded outs.

The Sooners bats would pick him up quickly after he exited, putting up three runs in the bottom of the second, two of which coming on a double by right fielder Jace Bohrofen. They would then tack on six more runs in the bottom of the third on a home run by second baseman Conor McKenna, another 2-RBI hit by Bohrofen and then another two-run knock by designated hitter Jimmy Crooks.

Braden Carmichael entered the game in the third and was somewhat shaky allowing a run to cross, but really settled in after that. He tossed three shutout innings after that totaling up five strikeouts along the way. He gets the win in relief.

Oklahoma would score six more runs over the course of the sixth, seventh and eighth innings highlighted by a missile home run by third baseman Peyton Graham and yet another two-RBI hit by Bohrofen, this one a triple. He finished his evening with six runs knocked in.

The big day for the bats helps get the Sooners back to .500 on the young season at 6-6 and gives them a mini-season sweep of UT-Arlington winning both matchups this year. Oklahoma will now take a couple days off before returning to action at home for a three-game set with Arkansas State.

When, where, how to watch Oklahoma baseball take on UT-Arlington

Everything you need to know for when Oklahoma takes on UT-Arlington on Tuesday night in Norman.

Oklahoma (5-6) is set to return to L. Dale Mitchell Park on Tuesday night when they host UT-Arlington (5-5) in a rematch of their game a little less than two weeks ago at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas. On that night, the Sooners had one of their more complete performances of the young season with a 7-1 win over the Mavericks.

Oklahoma is hoping for a bounce back week on their home soil after a disappointing performance overall at the Frisco College Baseball Classic. Other than a big offensive outburst against Missouri in the third game of four at Dr. Pepper Ballpark, few things went right at the event for the Sooners – specifically with the starting pitching.

Arizona put up staggering offensive numbers in their two games against Oklahoma to start the weekend and then Dallas Baptist closed the week with a big day behind the plate of their own. Skip Johnson’s club could certainly use a bounce back outing on Tuesday night to steer things back in a positive direction moving forward.

This will be the 37th all-time meeting between the Sooners and UT-Arlington, with Oklahoma taking 25 of the first 36 including each of the last four. This will be a welcome return back to Norman for the squad after playing nine straight games away from home, and will be the first time fans will be able to be back in the ballpark at L. Dale Mitchell Park this season.

For this midweek non-conference matchup, here is everything you need to know:

PITCHING MATCHUP:   Oklahoma TBA vs UT-Arlington TBA

WHERE:   Norman, Oklahoma

WHEN:   6:30 p.m. CT

HOW TO WATCH:   FOX Sports Oklahoma (Chad McKee & George Frazier)

HOW TO LISTEN:   Sportstalk 1400 AM/99.3 FM KREF; Tune In Radio App; Sportstalk1400.com (Toby Rowland)

Oklahoma falls back below .500 with 9-3 loss to Dallas Baptist in Frisco

Oklahoma took another big loss on Sunday night at the hands of Dallas Baptist 9-3 in Frisco.

Oklahoma baseball concluded their week at the Frisco College Baseball Classic on Sunday night facing a familiar foe in recent years with the Dallas Baptist Patriots. After dropping the first two games to Arizona, the Sooners bounced back to defeat Missouri on Saturday to create an opportunity to escape the weekend with a split.

Unfortunately for Skip Johnson’s club, things didn’t go as planned as they fell at the hands of the Patriots 9-3. Left-handed starting pitcher Jake Bennett was superb in last Sunday’s win over Baylor, but really struggled in this one allowing nine runs in just four innings of work. The bullpen did a good job keeping Dallas Baptist under wraps the rest of the way, but the damage had been done.

The Patriots didn’t waste any time building a big lead scoring three in the first, five in the second and one in the third to hold a quick 9-0 lead. Oklahoma would struggle to get much going until the seventh inning when they pushed across their three runs on RBI walks by both shortstop Brandon Zaragoza and third baseman Peyton Graham before left fielder Kendall Pettis later scored on a wild pitch.

The loss slips the Sooners back below .500 at just 5-6 on the still very young season. Obviously, the week is a disappointing turnout for a team that finished last week in Round Rock very strongly and seemingly entered the event with a lot of momentum. It was known the starting rotation was the biggest question mark entering the season, and it had great struggles this week. It isn’t breaking any news to say they’ll need to find a way to get more length and better outings from their guys to have the chance to beat good teams consistently – and they certainly still have loads of time to figure things out.

It is far too early to press the panic button, especially with a lighter schedule played at home coming in the days ahead. If things don’t improve over the next couple of weeks, then it may be time for fans to start to have some worries.

As is common with the college baseball season, Oklahoma won’t get much time to recuperate. They’ll have the day off tomorrow before returning to action at L. Dale Mitchell Park against UT-Arlington on Tuesday night.