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Alec Blair's Big Day Helps Oklahoma Sweep Santa Clara

Big hits from Blair helped keep the Broncos at arms length despite midgame threat.
Brady Trantham|
Oklahoma outfielder Alec Blair slides into third base against Gonzaga.
Oklahoma outfielder Alec Blair slides into third base against Gonzaga. | Carson Field, Sooners On SI

An up-and-down afternoon from the mound couldn't stop the home team from winning the day.

The No. 12-ranked Oklahoma Sooners defeated Santa Clara 8-6 to sweep the series. It was a day where OU pitchers accounted for 15 strike outs, but early inconsistency led to a change at the mound quicker than expected.

Fortunately, Deiten LaChance (3-for-3, 2 R, 2 RBI) and especially Alec Blair (2-3, 3 RBI) could pick up the slack from the plate. No matter who Santa Clara sent to the mound—and they sent plenty—they couldn't keep this Sooner duo out of scoring position.

Oklahoma (14-2) saw only four batters get a hit, but thats all that was needed to deny the Broncos (5-9) a sneaky victory.

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Left-hander Cord Rager (3-1, 2.50 ERA) seemed to struggle for the second consecutive outing. Rager's previous game was the frustrating performance in the third game against Gonzaga last Sunday. A home run in the second led to early action in the Sooner bullpen.

Rager's pitches hit three batters and he walked two others—causing Skip Johnson to pull him for Reid Hensley in the top of the fourth with Oklahoma leading 4-2 and two runners on with two outs for Santa Clara.

Brenden Brock got things rolling early with some activity. He singled into left field and then stole second successfully—a review confirmed it. Santa Clara's starting pitcher Jackson Cook struggled to find the zone, walking three-straight Sooner batters with the third plating Brock for the first score.

A wild pitch and an error helped put Drew Dickerson and Jaxon Willits across the plate for a 3-0 opening inning lead.

Oklahoma Sooners, Jaxon Willits
Oklahoma infielder Jaxon Willits rounds the bases against Gonzaga. | Carson Field, Sooners On SI

Santa Clara bounced back quickly in the second inning. A Tate Medicoff two-run home run cut the lead to 3-2 in favor of Oklahoma. It was only the second home run the Broncos have hit among their starting lineup during the season.

LaChance got some good fortune when a fly-out turned into an infield double following confusion from the Santa Clara fielders. That's when Blair drilled a ball into left center to plate LaChance for Oklahoma's fourth run—Blair's speed earned him a triple with the RBI.

Santa Clara wouldn't go away in the fourth. Medicoff continued being a thorn in the Sooner pitching's side when he hit an RBI double to tie the game. Hensley's appearance into the game couldn't save the lead, but he struck out three batters in a row to end the inning.

Hensley's day ended in the fifth when he struck Max Ross (his second HBP of the day), with Johnson calling for left-hander Jason Bodin. Bodin was able to escape the inning with Santa Clara stranding a runner in scoring position and the score still tied at 4-4.

The Sooners hit another triple when Dickerson's right field shot couldn't be caught by the leaping right fielder. Camden Johnson was able to score, bringing the lead back in favor of Oklahoma at 5-4.

LaChance earned his second RBI when he doubled into center field, scoring Dickerson. Blair's big day continued with an RBI-double (third RBI of the day), scoring LaChance. Once Santa Clara ended the inning, OU lead 7-4.

With the score still at 7-4, OU got bases loaded with one out. Oklahoma earned a run with one more out left following a Gerardo Prado sacrifice RBI fly out, scoring Willits. The Sooners stretched the lead to 8-4, but left the bases loaded when Walk suffered the third out.

Kadyn Leon was called upon to keep the Broncos from regaining the lead in the eighth. With bases loaded, Leon struck out Russ Filter looking to end the inning.

Bodin finished with six strikeouts, only giving up one run. Closer Jackson Cleveland got the save when a groundball double play ended the game.

Oklahoma will host UT-Arlington on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. The Sooners will open conference play when they welcome the Texas A&M Aggies for a weekend series beginning at 6:30 p.m. on Friday.

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Brady Trantham
BRADY TRANTHAM

Brady Trantham covered the Oklahoma City Thunder as the lead Thunder Insider from 2018 until 2021 for 107.7 The Franchise. During that time, Trantham also helped the station as a fill-in guest personality and co-hosted Oklahoma Sooner postgame shows. Trantham also covered the Thunder for the Norman Transcript and The Oklahoman on a freelance basis. He received his BA in history from the University of Oklahoma in 2014 and a BS in Sports Casting from Full Sail University in 2023. Trantham also founded and hosts the “Through the Keyhole” podcast, covering Oklahoma Sooners football. He was born in Oklahoma and raised as an Air Force brat all over the world before returning to Norman and setting down roots there.

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