OU Baseball: Oklahoma Blows Out Oral Roberts in Tulsa
A very nice way to start the week.
After splitting their four-game home series with Stanford, Oklahoma returned to action for a midweek tilt with Oral Roberts on Tuesday night at J.L. Johnson Stadium in Tulsa.
Coming off of a bit of a rough game on Sunday, the Sooners (16-14) quickly put that outing in the rearview mirror as they dominated the Golden Eagles (20-10) to the tune of a 12-2 final score.
The festivities got started early on Tuesday evening with OU striking for two immediate runs in the opening inning.
Anthony Mackenzie, Bryce Madron and John Spikerman all singled to open the game and quickly get Oklahoma out in front 1-0.
Easton Carmichael would later plate Madron with a sacrifice fly, giving the Sooners a 2-0 edge before the Golden Eagles ever took a swing.
The teams traded runs in the third, as Carmichael scored Madron again with a sacrifice fly before Holden Breeze popped a solo homer for ORU.
Now leading 3-1, Oklahoma tacked on to their advantage in each of the next three frames - beginning with a two-run double by Mackenzie in the fourth.
The Sooners then struck for four more runs in the fifth on RBI singles from Rocco Garza-Gongora and Wallace Clark followed by a two-run knock from Kendall Pettis.
Just like that, OU was in complete control leading 9-1.
Garza-Gongora added another in the sixth with a run-scoring single through the left side, getting Oklahoma to double figures at ten runs.
An Oral Roberts solo homer in the seventh would knock left-hander Braden Carmichael out of the game, but not before he had turned in a rock solid performance.
Coming off of a weekend where head coach Skip Johnson had to use a plethora of pitchers, Carmichael worked 6.1 innings allowing just two runs and three hits.
In the eighth, Clark and Jackson Nicklaus came through with back-to-back sacrifice fly’s to push OU’s lead up to ten at 12-2.
After Carmichael's departure, an OU bullpen effort comprised of Kale Davis, Carter Campbell, Gray Harrison and Aaron Calhoun teamed up to record the final eight outs and seal the victory.
The win is Oklahoma’s third in their last four games and serves as one of their more complete overall performances of the season against a quality ORU team.
Looking to continue to build momentum, the Sooners will have one day off before beginning a three-game set with Baylor starting on Thursday night in Waco, TX.