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OU Baseball: Oklahoma Drops Texas in Opener

Left-hander Braden Davis was electric and the Sooners got plenty of big hits to take game one of their final series as Big 12 opponents.

John E. Hoover

Oklahoma's Braden Davis
Oklahoma's Braden Davis / SARAH PHIPPS/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY

Oklahoma opened its final Big 12 series in the Red River Rivalry with an emphatic victory.

Braden Davis made sure of it. 

The No. 19-ranked Sooners won their ninth game in a row by beating Texas 9-4 on Friday night at L. Dale Mitchell Park.

It was the Sooners’ seventh straight victory in Big 12 play.

OU improved to 26-14 overall and 15-4 in Big 12 play, firmly in first place in the league standings and four games clear of the Longhorns (25-18, 11-8). The Sooners are also well ahead of Oklahoma State (14-7 coming into Friday) and West Virginia (12-7) — two teams that beat OU twice in their season series this year.

Davis (5-3), Oklahoma’s hard-throwing left-hander, finished six innings by scattering seven hits and giving up three walks, but he struck out nine and only allowed one run. 

Davis also dropped his season ERA to 4.97 in his 11th start this season. He now leads the Sooners with 76 strikeouts in 58 innings pitched.

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OU scored three unearned runs in the second inning to get the onslaught going.

Kendall Pettis hit a single to left that scored Anthony Mackenzie for a 1-0 lead, and Jackson Nicklaus came home when Scott Mudler reached on a Longhorn error in center field to make it 2-0. John Spikerman’s groundout then scored Pettis on a one-out groundout for a 3-0 advantage.

In the third, Pettis brought home Easton Carmichael for another unearned run with an RBI single up the middle that put the Sooners ahead 4-0.

Texas got a run back in the fifth when Jalil Flores singled home Jared Thomas.

But OU got that back in the sixth as Jaxon Willits blasted a solo home run to straightaway center field for a 5-1 lead.

Texas scored another run in the seventh to make it 5-2.

But the Sooners poured it on with three runs in the seventh.

A solo home run by Mackenzie put Oklahoma up 6-2, Willits’ RBI single up the middle scored Pettis to make it 7-2, and Spikerman’s fielder’s choice RBI brought home Mudler to give the Sooners an 8-2 lead.

Texas added a two-run home run in the top of the eighth as Thomas blasted a shot to right-center field to score Casey Borba and cut the OU lead in half.

But the Sooners added an insurance run for a 9-4 lead in the bottom of the eighth — without even the benefit of a hit — when Michael Snyder executed a double-steal of home plate after Mackenzie stole second.

Flores and Thomas each had three hits for Texas, which compiled 12 hits on the night.

OU had 10 hits, led by Carmichael, Mackenzie, Pettis and Willits with two apiece. Spikerman, Pettis and Willits each delivered two RBIs.

Four relievers closed the deal behind Davis’ strong start. Carter Campbell, Carson Atwood and Jett Lodes each allowed one run in two-thirds of an inning. Malachi Witherspoon issued a walk to start the ninth but then struck out the side to finish it off.

The series continues on Saturday as the teams meet again at 4 p.m. Sunday’s finale starts at 2 p.m.

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John E. Hoover

JOHN E. HOOVER

John is an award-winning journalist whose work spans five decades in Oklahoma, with multiple state, regional and national awards as a sportswriter at various newspapers. During his newspaper career, John covered the Dallas Cowboys, the Kansas City Chiefs, the Oklahoma Sooners, the Oklahoma State Cowboys, the Arkansas Razorbacks and much more. In 2016, John changed careers, migrating into radio and launching a YouTube channel, and has built a successful independent media company, DanCam Media. From there, John has written under the banners of Sporting News, Sports Illustrated, Fan Nation and a handful of local and national magazines while hosting daily sports talk radio shows in Oklahoma City, Tulsa and statewide. John has also spoken on Capitol Hill in Oklahoma City in a successful effort to put more certified athletic trainers in Oklahoma public high schools. Among the dozens of awards he has won, John most cherishes his national "Beat Writer of the Year" from the Associated Press Sports Editors, Oklahoma's "Best Sports Column" from the Society of Professional Journalists, and Two "Excellence in Sports Medicine Reporting" Awards from the National Athletic Trainers Association. John holds a bachelor's degree in Mass Communications from East Central University in Ada, OK. Born and raised in North Pole, Alaska, John played football and wrote for the school paper at Ada High School in Ada, OK. He enjoys books, movies and travel, and lives in Broken Arrow, OK, with his wife and two kids.