Oklahoma
OU Baseball: Oklahoma Wins Again, Takes Series at Texas Tech
By OU Media Relations
LUBBOCK, TX — No. 22 Oklahoma took the series over Texas Tech with a 7-5 win Saturday afternoon in Lubbock.
With the win, Oklahoma (28-17, 17-6) clinched its fifth conference series of the season and second straight series victory in Lubbock over Tech (30-19, 12-14).
OU collected its 17th win in Big 12 play Saturday, matching the most wins in conference play since 2009.
A complete team win powered OU to the series W, with the offense putting up seven runs on 11 hits, including two home runs. The pitching staff of starter Kyson Witherspoon and relievers Carter Campbell, Dylan Crooks and Malachi Witherspoon allowed a powerful Tech offense just five runs on seven hits, with all five runs coming in the final four innings.
OU jumped out to another early lead, scoring a pair at the top of the first. After a double from senior Bryce Madron, sophomore Easton Carmichael brought him in on an RBI single down the left line. Two batters later, senior Anthony Mackenzie singled in Carmichael for a two-run lead before the Red Raiders stepped to the plate.
Witherspoon settled in and worked five scoreless innings to start, a day after junior Braden Davis and senior Will Carsten combined to shut out the Red Raiders for OU’s fourth shutout of the season.
The Sooners provided plenty of insurance at the top of the fifth, scoring four runs on four hits. A leadoff home run from Madron, his team-leading 10th of the season, started the offensive explosion. After a Carmichael single, stolen base and HBP drawn by senior Michael Snyder, Mackenzie ripped his sixth home run of the season out to right on a three-run shot.
Tech scored its first run of the series in the bottom of the sixth on a solo home run after the Sooner arms had held the Red Raiders scoreless for 14 innings.
Witherspoon exited in the seventh with a final line of: 6.2 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 5 BB and 7 K. It was the righty’s fifth appearance on the year with seven-plus strikeouts.
Campbell and Crooks combined to finish the seventh, allowing the Red Raiders to push a pair across on a two-run single. Crooks induced a groundout to get out of the jam, stranding a pair.
The Sooners got one back at the top of the eighth again off the bat of Madron. After a HBP drawn by fellow senior Kendall Pettis and walk to junior John Spikerman, Madron dropped an RBI single into right field to score Pettis. A play at the plate ended the OU threat with runners on the corners, as Spikerman was ruled out at the plate after review on a double-steal attempt.
Tech pulled within two in the bottom of the ninth on a two-run home run, but sophomore closer Malachi Witherspoon shook back with a strikeout looking to secure the OU win and series victory.
Madron led OU at the plate with his seventh game of the season with three hits, going 3-for-4 with a homer, two RBIs and two stolen bases. Mackenzie brought in four runs in a 2-for-5, one home run showing. Seven Sooners recorded a base hit in the game.
OU, already having secured a spot in the Big 12 Championship in Arlington, is now in first place by two games in the conference standings heading into Sunday.
The teams meet for the series finale at 2 p.m. Sunday.
At least 10 people were hospitalized following a shooting at a party at Arcadia Lake in Edmond, Oklahoma, the Edmond Police Department confirmed late Sunday night in a post to its social media.
The department noted that it had responded to the scene alongside officers from Oklahoma City Police and the Oklahoma Highway Patrol.
Ten victims were evacuated by ambulance to various hospitals in the Oklahoma metro area, police said, noting that the “total number of victims is expected to change as additional individuals transported themselves to area hospitals. There is no update on victim conditions at this time.”
Initial reports citing law enforcement scanners claimed that at least 15 people had been injured.
Edmond Police have set up a reunification center for families at a local Walmart, CBS Oklahoma City affiliate KWTV reported.
Police added there are no suspects in custody at this time, urging the public to reach out with any information.
According to KOCO-TV, KOCO-TV, an ABC-affiliate station in Oklahoma City, police said that there “was no known threat to the public” as of 11:15 p.m..
“We will release more information when it becomes available,” police said.
Despite being from down the road in Oklahoma and his brother already being a Sooner, Blake Griffin recently admitted that playing at OU wasn’t always part of his plans.
Now retired after a 13-year NBA career, Griffin was recently on “New Heights” podcast with Jason and Travis Kelce when he was asked if he always knew he was going to end up at Oklahoma during his recruitment process out of Oklahoma Christian School in nearby Edmond, where his dad was the head coach.
Blake Griffin tells Kelce Brothers he eyed other programs over OU
“It actually wasn’t,” Griffin said. “So my brother (Taylor) committed and played there his freshman year, and then they got a new coach. Kelvin Sampson left, there were some recruiting violations, they got this new coach. Honestly, I loved Kansas, I loved Florida. …
“And then I had like Duke and North Carolina on my list, but it was kind of just like a — it felt like it was a lifelong dream of Duke and North Carolina.”
Obviously Griffin ultimately did end up staying home in Oklahoma and the rest is history. He committed to the Sooners as a McDonald’s All-American and one of the greatest recruits OU has ever landed in men’s basketball at the start of Lon Kruger’s tenure.
As a freshman in 2007, Griffin immediately cracked the starting lineup and averaged 14.7 points and 9.1 rebounds a game while becoming First-Team All-Big 12. Despite being a potential lottery pick, Griffin chose to return to OU and helped lead the Sooners to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament and swept national individual awards. He was then the first overall pick the Los Angeles Clippers in the 2009 NBA Draft, where his brother, Taylor, was also drafted at No. 48.
“I wanted to go to a place where, A, my brother was there, it was close to home, my parents could come watch us play, and then also just that I wanted to go to a place where you felt like they really believed in you and you were gonna be the guy and you were gonna get the opportunity,” Griffin said. “And I’m so glad I did.”
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NORMAN — Oklahoma’s game against Florida on Saturday unexpectedly turned into a bullpen game for the Sooners.
OU starter Cameron Johnson exited the contest after only one inning of work, forcing the Sooners’ relief pitchers to record the remaining 24 outs. The results from Oklahoma’s bullpen were mixed, as the No. 15 Sooners ultimately lost 10-5 to the No. 25 Gators.
In his lone inning, Johnson allowed back-to-back baserunners to open the game before retiring three Gators in a row. Johnson went back onto the mound before the second inning before meeting with coach Skip Johnson and one of OU’s trainers. The pitcher then departed from the mound and Michael Catalano — OU’s usual midweek starter — entered the game.
Catalano gave up a run on a sacrifice fly in the second inning before Caden McDonald hit a three-run home run in the third to give Florida its first lead of the game.
Trent Collier was the next man up and entered with two outs in the third. Collier made it just one inning and allowed Florida to score two runs, both of which were unearned.
Nick Wesloski, who replaced Collier, had the longest night on the mound for the Sooners. He retired the first 10 batters he faced before giving up a solo home run to McDonald.
Nate Smithburg, Mason Bixby and Jaden Barfield were OU’s final three pitchers to take the mound, and they gave up three runs over the final two frames.
Offensively, the Sooners scored early but not often.
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Jaxon Willits got OU on the board in the first inning with a two-RBI double to give the Sooners an early advantage. Camden Johnson logged a two-out two-RBI single to shrink Florida’s lead from four runs to two runs.
Four of Oklahoma’s five runs, though, came from those two hits. Deiten Lachance hit a solo home run with two outs in the bottom of the ninth for OU’s first run in five innings.
OU finished the game with eight knocks, and Johnson (3-for-4 with two RBIs) was the only Sooner with multiple.
For Florida, McDonald was the star. He went 4-for-5 with two home runs, two doubles and six RBIs.
Oklahoma’s loss on Saturday follows its 4-3 win over the Gators on Friday. The Sooners scored three runs in the bottom of the eighth to earn their comeback win.
The Sooners dropped to 30-15 overall and 12-11 in SEC with the loss, while Florida improved to 30-17 and 12-11.
Sunday’s rubber match between Oklahoma and Florida will begin at 2 p.m.
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