OU Baseball: Oklahoma Bounces Back in Bedlam Slugfest

The Sooners hit six home runs and rebounded nicely from Friday's series opening loss with a 19-10 victory over the Cowboys on Saturday.

Jaxon Willits (77) / OU Athletics

By OU Media Relations

STILLWATER – Oklahoma blasted its way to a series-tying victory Saturday in Stillwater, beating the Cowboys 19-10 to force a rubber match Sunday. 

The Sooners (17-13, 8-3 Big 12) hit six home runs in the game, good for the most since hitting six at Texas Tech in 2022. The Sooners brought their series homer total to 10 after hitting four last night. OU entered the weekend with eight blasts in Big 12 play. On the day, the two teams combined for 29 runs on 28 hits and 10 home runs.

The six round-trippers on the day came from six different Sooners: Anthony Mackenzie, Bryce Madron, Scott Mudler, Jackson Nicklaus, Michael Snyder and Jaxon Willits. It marked back-to-back games with home runs for Nicklaus and Willits.

OU’s 19 runs were the most scored vs. the Cowboys since a 21-run outburst in Oklahoma City in 2006, and the most the Sooners have scored in Stillwater since 1985 (21). OU put up crooked numbers in five innings, including five-spots in both the third and fourth innings.

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After a scoreless first inning between two starting pitchers that began the day with sub-2.00 ERAs, OSU’s Brian Holiday (1.75) and OU’s Kyson Witherspoon (1.41), a slugfest started in the second inning. 

Oklahoma started the scoring with back to back home runs at the top of the second, courtesy Mackenzie and Snyder. It marked the third time this season that OU has hit consecutive blasts. Redshirt senior Kendall Pettis ended the scoring in the frame with an RBI groundout. 

At the bottom half of the second, OSU homered, singled in a run and scored on a wild pitch to go up 4-3 after two. 

Moving to the third, the Sooners blasted another pair of home runs and Pettis brought another run in via groundout. Madron hit a leadoff blast before Mudler ripped a three-run shot to right field. A two-run home run from the Pokes in the bottom half made it a two-run game through three. 

Mackenzie continued his tear at the plate with an RBI double to right center in the fourth before Nicklaus brought him home on a double of his own. Two batters later with the bases loaded, Mudler laced a three-run single to left center to up his RBI total on the day to six. It was the most runs batted in for a Sooner since Blake Robertson brought in six vs. Kansas in 2022. 

To the bottom fourth, a solo homer from OSU’s Zach Ehrhard brought the Cowboys within six at 13-7. 

The Sooners put three more runs on the board in the sixth, courtesy a three-run jack from Willits. It was Willits’ third home run in two games after hitting one on the season entering the series. 

A two-run bottom half of the sixth for OSU made it 16-9 after six. 

At the top of the seventh, Nicklaus continued to swing a hot bat with his fifth home run in the last six games on a two-run jack to right. The Pokes answered with a solo home run in the bottom of the eighth to make it 18-10 as the game entered an hour-and-a-half rain delay. 

After play resumed, OU scored the game’s final run via wild pitch after Madron drew a walk and moved to scoring position via sacrifice play. 

Five Sooners had multi-hit days, including three in Mackenzie, Nicklaus and Snyder with three hits apiece. Mudler brought in six runs, while Willits and Nicklaus followed with three each. 

OU starting RHP K. Witherspoon went 3.2 innings, surrendering seven runs on eight hits with a walk and two strikeouts. Senior Carter Campbell (1-0) earned the win, hurling four innings, scattering three hits, three runs and three walks with five strikeouts. Junior reliever Reid Hensley closed the contest, throwing 1.1 scoreless innings with one hit, one walk and one strikeout. 

The teams meet for the Bedlam Series rubber match at 1 p.m. CT Sunday.