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Oklahoma Collapses in Friday Night Extras Despite Cameron Johnson's Great Night

When Johnson left the mound in the fifth and OU up 3-0, strikes were like parking spots in downtown Oklahoma City during an NBA playoff game — hard to come by — as the bullpen failed OU
Brady Trantham|
Oklahoma pitcher Cameron Johnson throws against Gonzaga.
Oklahoma pitcher Cameron Johnson throws against Gonzaga. | Carson Field, Sooners On SI

Thursday night's 14-0 run rule loss to the No. 2 Texas Longhorns wasn't for the faint of heart. At no point did the No. 8 Oklahoma Sooners look like they belonged on the same field as their opponent.

But Skip Johnson's Sooners have shown an ability to be resilient. If Thursday night was their worst, Friday night showed portions of what make this OU team great — and far too much of why they seem to struggle.

Oklahoma (19-7) fell to Texas (21-4) in a slow-burn 4-3 collapse, doomed by absent hitting and more walks than a country line dance.

Cameron Johnson (3-2, 8 Ks, 1 H) returned to form when Oklahoma needed him most. After back-to-back performances against Texas A&M and LSU where he allowed 14 walks, Johnson showed why he is one of the better aces in the SEC with consistent strikes and dominant play. After five innings Johnson's night was done.

But Texas would go on to retire 13 consecutive Sooner batters from the fifth inning on. With no offense to speak of from Oklahoma, and the bullpen struggling, the Sooners could only hang on with the lead for so long before the dam broke in the ninth.

Oklahoma Sooners, Skip Johnson
Oklahoma coach Skip Johnson | Carson Field, Sooners On SI

Kyle Branch helped the Sooners strike first in the second. Following a sacrifice bunt to advance runners to third and second, Branch doubled down the left field line to score Alec Blair and Deiten Lachance to help OU take a 2-0 lead.

OU's aggression got the best of them in the third when Camden Johnson was thrown out at home. Brenden Brock, who was at first after grounding into the fielder's choice that doomed Johnson, was able to steal second thanks to a poor Texas throw.

Emotions boiled over in true Red River Rivalry fashion when second baseman Ethan Mendoza shoved Brock off second base. The two traded heated words as the intensity of this pivotal matchup heightened.

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Oklahoma's defense also stepped up to aid Johnson's exceptional evening on the mound. A 6-4-3 double play in the third ended the Longhorns at bat. The Sooners loved that sequence so much that they repeated it in the fourth to retire Texas. Those were the 11th and 12 double plays so far for OU — which leads the SEC.

Jason Walk got things rolling in the fifth with a lead-off double. Trey Gambill flied out into center field, but that did little to dissmay Walk who used his speed to reach third. Johnson then grounded out to second, scoring Walk to extend Oklahoma's lead at 3-0.

The Sooners' ace wasn't done with his evening.

Through five innings, Johnson had thrown 90 pitches, allowing just one hit while fanning eight Longhorns. His gem kept OU's hopes alive deep into the night. After walking designated hitter Maddox Monsour in the bottom of the sixth, Johnson's night was done.

Kadyn Leon relieved Johnson, facing Mendoza first. He won the duel as Mendoza fouled out down the first-base line, where Blair made a spectacular diving grab for Texas' second out — Blair nearly made the double play when he threw back to first.

Drama escalated as Leon walked two straight batters to load the bases with two outs. Texas third baseman Temo Becerra crushed a deep fly to left into the wind, but it was caught for the final out — leaving OU with a 3-0 escape.

OU's offense seemed extinguished with back-to-back 1-2-3 outings in the sixth and the seventh. Clinging to a 3-0 lead, the Sooners looked to the mound to finish the night off.

Jason Bodin came on after Leon walked the lead-off man in the seventh. He wasn't much better than Leon. In 13 pitches, Bodin got the bases loaded for Texas for the second inning in a row. This time OU wasn't able to escape unscathed with Bodin walking another Longhorn batter, earing Texas their first score of the game.

Cleveland came on to stop the bleeding. He was able to get a fielder's choice force out at home for the first out of the inning — bases still loaded. Texas followed it up with a sacrifice fly to cut the deficit to one run with two on.

Oklahoma Sooners, Jason Bodin
Oklahoma pitcher Jason Bodin throws against Arizona State. | Carson Field, Sooners On SI

Cleveland suffered the fifth walk of the inning to once again see bases loaded behind him. This time, OU cleaned it up with a ground out to end the inning, leading 3-2.

For the third consecutive inning, OU went three up, three down before you could fully exhale from your seventh inning stretch.

In the ninth, Mendoza led Texas with a triple only to reach home on the next at bat to tie the game at three. The Longhorns were unable to get the winning run before the inning concluded.

Oklahoma finally got a runner on via Walk's error at first, but the threat fizzled — Gambill struck out, and Walk was gunned down trying to steal second.

Texas would end the game with a walk-off single in the 10th.

Oklahoma will return to the field tomorrow at 4 p.m. to look to avoid being swept.

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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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