All Sooners

OU Baseball: Oklahoma's Braden Carmichael Shuts Down Oklahoma State

The Sooners turned the tide Friday night, keeping the Cowboys scoreless and taking round two.

Ross Lovelace

Annie Rice/Avalanche-Journal

NORMAN — Skip Johnson’s postgame speech to the media Thursday seemed to be the same speech he gave to the team: Wake up tomorrow, and it’s a new opportunity.

Oklahoma took advantage of the second chance in Game 2 of their Bedlam series at L. Dale Mitchel Park, bouncing back Friday in a massive way and topping the Cowboys 5-0 in a complete team effort.

Braden Carmichael was the star of the show, throwing Oklahoma’s first complete game since Dane Acker in 2020.

"On a night like this, last time pitching on that mound, I had to give it everything I had," Carmichael said after the shutout. "Needed a big win, didn't want the orange team to beat us."

He was determined to give the Sooners a fresh start, recording five strikeouts and allowing just four hits in nine innings. Carmichael threw just 96 total pitches and didn’t allow a single walk.

Juaron Watts-Brown started on the mound for the Cowboys, throwing five innings and allowing five hits and four runs.

The Sooners were led by Kendall Pettis and John Spikerman offensively, each tallying two hits apiece, while Easton Carmichael had two RBIs.

Although it would be difficult to top Thursday’s 13-2 blunder in the opener, the Sooners looked much more comfortable taking the field in the first inning in Game 2. For starters, there were no walks — and no runners hit-by-pitch. Oklahoma set the tone early with a quick three up, three down.

With the weather conditions in Norman, it seemed nearly impossible for the ball to travel through the air without the wind eating it up. Both teams suffered early, and the outfield stayed busy. Leading up to the fourth inning, Watts-Brown and Carmichael combined for eight strikeouts and no runs on the board.

"He's a strike thrower," Johnson said after Carmichael's performance. "That's one thing he's gonna do, and he's gonna keep you in games. 

"Him being an older guy and a captain, understanding the role he had to do and taking it one pitch at a time, I thought he did that as best he's done all year."

After a quiet three innings, Oklahoma’s offense came to life in the fourth. Dakota Harris singled to centerfield, and immediately after, Spikerman was walked. With two outs, Easton Carmichael stepped up to the plate and delivered. His rocket down the third base line scored both runners, giving the Sooners a two-run lead and all the momentum.

In the fifth, Oklahoma’s defense felt the pressure — and like the offense, they stepped up to the moment. Nolan McLean and David Mendham both recorded singles, putting a runner in scoring position and threatening Carmichael’s scoreless outing. Mendham was thrown out at second, though, ending the inning and keeping the momentum on Oklahoma’s side.

The Sooners’ offense picked up right where they left off returning to the plate. After Wallace Clark was walked, Mackenzie blasted a triple down the right field line and sent clark running free across home plate. If Mackenzie had known Watts-Brown was out of the picture and not covering home plate, he very well could’ve netted an inside the park home run.

It didn’t matter, though, as a wild pitch on the next at-bat allowed Mackenzie to score easily and extend Oklahoma’s lead. Heading to the top of the sixth, the Sooners controlled a 4-0 advantage on the scoreboard.

Through seven innings, Carmichael’s scoreless streak stayed intact. His fourth strikeout of the night ended Oklahoma State’s turn through the order emphatically.

After a scoreless sixth inning, Oklahoma found offensive firepower once again putting another tally on the board. With Pettis on third and Spikerman on second, Oklahoma State bobbled Diego Muniz’s tricky infield grounder, which allowed a run to score comfortably for a 5-0 cushion.

The score would stay idle for the remaining two innings, as Carmichael finished off his complete game masterpiece.

“I was just trying to take it inning by inning, just keep executing pitches," Carmichael said. "Probably wasn’t until about the ninth inning when it hit me a little bit, heart started pounding a little more — so I’ll sleep well tonight.”

Johnson's entire ball club will likely find it much easier to get shuteye after an emphatic shutout. It's back to business tomorrow, though, as Oklahoma has an opportunity to take the Bedlam series for second time since 2016.

After Thursday's meltdown, toppling the Cowboys seemed like a fever dream. But now, the Sooners are nine innings away from the reality.

The Bedlam rubber match is set for 4 p.m. on Saturday afternoon, with James Hitt set to follow Carmichael's heroics on the mound.

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Ross Lovelace
ROSS LOVELACE

Experience Ross is a young, up-and-coming sports reporter who has covered the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Oklahoma Sooners over the past six years. He's made guest appearances on various radio stations and has helped out with the All Sooners podcast whenever he gets the chance. Ross enjoys public speaking and has done so at multiple churches and high schools across the OKC metro area. In addition to writing, Ross has been the Play-by-Play announcer for Crossings’ basketball and football programs since 2020. In high school, Ross worked for self-starter blogs and latched onto Thunder Digest, where he discovered his passion for writing. From there, he worked for the OU Daily as a women's basketball reporter and was hired by All Sooners. Ross landed an internship with Sports Illustrated's Inside the Thunder and has since become a full-time contributor. One day, Ross hopes to work in the NBA. Work History Education Ross holds a bachelor's degree in Public Relations and a minor in Communication from the University of Oklahoma. Personal Born and raised in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Ross played basketball and wrote for his own Thunder blog at Crossings High School in OKC, OK. He enjoys reading, New York Jets football and a week at the beach. Ross is engaged to be married at the end of the year. His Twitter handle is @Rosslovelace.

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