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OU Baseball: Oklahoma Strolls Past Texas Southern to Stay Unbeaten

The Sooners took just seven innings to overwhelm their SWAC opponent and notch their best start to a season since 2013.

Guerin Emig

Oklahoma shortstop Jaxon Willits
Oklahoma shortstop Jaxon Willits / Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

The Oklahoma baseball team enjoyed a day as easy as the sunny, 78-degree weather Tuesday afternoon at L. Dale Mitchell Park, strolling past Texas Southern 15-4 in seven innings .

The result kept the No. 16 Sooners unbeaten at 7-0, and was a pleasant downshift from the high stakes of their 3-0 weekend at the Round Rock Classic featuring a pair of wins over top-10 opponents. 

Every Sooner in Skip Johnson’s lineup contributed offensively. It was a balanced attack.

The hitters in OU’s 6 through 9 spots – Kyle Branch, Dayton Tockey, Gavyn Jones and Dawson Willis – went 8-for-11 through the first four innings as the Sooners built a 14-3 lead.  

Oklahoma Sooners

Jaxon Willits, second in OU’s order, homered, tripled and drove in four runs. 

Sam Christiansen, batting fifth, homered, tripled and drove in three, all three coming home on his towering home run over the 410-foot sign in right-center field in the second inning.

Willits went deep three batters before Christiansen, the two big bops during a seven-run bottom of the second. The Sooners sent seven hitters to the plate against Texas Southern starter Justin Mayes and turned a 1-0 deficit into 7-1 command. 

Jason Walk’s two-run double and Willits’ RBI triple sparked a four-run bottom of the third, making it 11-1 and giving the first indication that the game would be over early due to the 10-run-deficit-after-seven-innings rule. 

The offensive outburst was of great benefit for Jacob Gholston, making his first OU start on the mound. Gholston gave up four runs over five innings, but was never in any real danger before allowing Reid Hensley to pitch a 1-2-3 sixth and 1-2-3 seventh. 

Gholston got the win thanks his steadiness, 14 hits of support from his offense, and some error-free defense that featured two double plays. 

The Sooners improved to 4-0 at home, with a run differential of 51-11 thus far. Their 7-0 overall record marks their best start to a season since 2013. 

They will shoot for 8-0 against Texas Southern, now 1-7, back at L. Dale Mitchell Park Wednesday at 4 p.m.

Published
Guerin Emig
GUERIN EMIG

Guerin is a 25-year Oklahoma sports journalist. He spent the bulk of that time with the Tulsa World, where he partnered with Sooners On SI publisher John Hoover on the OU beat before eventually becoming a columnist. He lives in Tulsa with his wife, Christy, his sweetheart from Booker T. Washington's Class of ‘86.

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