OU Baseball: Oklahoma Runs Out of Pitching in NCAA Regional as Season Ends in Norman

Despite two solid pitching performances from the Sooners on Sunday, Skip Johnson's team was outlasted by Connecticut at the Norman Regional.

Jun 3, 2024; Norman, OK, USA; Oklahoma Sooners pitcher Carter Campbell (14) / Alonzo Adams-USA TODAY Sports

NORMAN — Playing its fifth game in four days, Oklahoma ran out of solid options on the mound as it squared off against a veteran Connecticut Huskies squad in the final game of the Norman Regional.

After taking down Oral Roberts on Friday night, the Sooners fell to Connecticut on Saturday before beating Duke and winning a rematch against the Huskies on Sunday. OU's impressive performance on Sunday put Skip Johnson's team just one win away from advancing to the NCAA Super Regionals next weekend.

With the team's two aces, Kyson Witherspoon and Braden Davis, both throwing over 100 pitches earlier in the weekend, the Sooners had their back against the wall on Sunday and had to rely on more unproven options on the bump.

Needing outstanding performances from its pitching staff on Sunday, redshirt senior right hander Grant Stevens and senior right hander Jett Lodes delivered for Oklahoma.

“This time of year it’s all hands on deck,” Johnson said. “You’ve just got to go out there and just like Jett (Lodes) did (on Sunday), pick each other up. You never know who’s going to be in those moments.” 

Against Duke, Stevens allowed just one earned run on six hits and two walks while tallying seven strikeouts in seven innings. After Brendan Girton gave up three runs in the first two innings of his start against UConn on Sunday, Lodes entered in relief and gave up zero earned runs on three hits while notching seven strikeouts in seven innings.

Not only did Stevens and Lodes help the Sooners stay alive in the NCAA Tournament, the two being able to hold strong for seven innings each saved Johnson from having to utilize other pitchers and potentially prevent them from being able to throw in a win or go home game against Connecticut on Monday night.

“(Lodes) saved three or four or five arms going into tomorrow,” Johnson said after Sunday’s contests. “It was really big, huge. He worked hard, he’s been here for four years and he’s worked hard ever since he’s been here.”

Oklahoma, however, did not get the same performance from its pitching staff on Monday night against the Huskies, as UConn broke the game open with a four-run fourth inning.

With the game tied at zero, Carson Atwood gave up a two-run homer that was followed by a dropped third strike and a throwing error that allowed the batter to reach third base. Atwood was pulled and replaced by Carter Campbell, who immediately gave up another two-run blast.

“I thought Atwood started out really good,” Johnson said after the game. “Left a pitch up to a good hitter, hits it out of the ballpark. Make a switch, we’re trying to piece it together, get to the end. We had some arms at the end, but I didn’t want to burn them unless we got a lead or tied and (we) just could never sustain a rally.” 

After Campbell walked a batter and was called for a balk in the next inning, junior right hander Ryan Lambert took over on the mound. Lambert walked the first batter he faced before giving up RBI singles to the next two batters.

Despite getting solid outings from Witherspoon, Davis, Stevens and Lodes over the weekend, the Sooners lack of remaining quality options on the mound led to their demise on Monday night.

Falling into a 6-0 hole in the fifth inning, Oklahoma was unable to make a solid comeback effort and ultimately fell to the Huskies 7-1. The loss ends the Sooners' season, as Connecticut will advance to the Tallahassee Super Regional to play Florida State with a trip to the College World Series on the line.

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