OU Baseball: Oklahoma Clinches Share of Big 12 By Sweeping Baylor

NORMAN — In the final contest of Oklahoma's three-game series against Baylor, the Sooners defeated the Bears 19-7 in seven innings to earn a share of the Big 12 regular season title for the first time in program history.

BIG 12 CHAMPS 🏆

For the first time in program history, the Oklahoma Sooners are @Big12Conference regular season champions!#COMPETE // #CHAOUS pic.twitter.com/MMGdcXYq74
— Oklahoma Baseball (@OU_Baseball) May 12, 2024

Game 3 was originally slated for Sunday afternoon, but was moved to Saturday evening due to the possibility of inclement weather. This resulted in a doubleheader on Saturday, with OU winning the first game of the day 9-1.

Three consecutive victories for Skip Johnson's squad give Oklahoma sweeps of UCF, TCU, Kansas State, BYU, Texas Tech and now Baylor this year.

"I think that's a testament to those guys' will and those guys picking each other up," Johnson said after the game. "Playing it one pitch at a time, I think that's been really the key factor in all of it."

Senior left hander James Hitt started at pitcher for the Sooners, allowing three earned runs on three hits in one inning on the mound.

In the batter's box, junior John Spikerman led the way, going 4-of-5 at the plate and tallying four RBIs. Sophomore catcher Easton Carmichael also had a solid showing, going 3-of-5 at the plate with five RBIs, while Bryce Madron hit an inside-the-park grand slam.

The Bears got on the board in the top of the first inning with a double down the third base line from Cortlan Castle that scored Enzo Apodaca. Hitt walked the next batter, which loaded the bases with just one out early in the game.

Daniel Altman hit a sacrifice fly ball into right field that scored Will Posey, but the Sooners threw Castle out at second on the same play as the catcher tried to dive back to the base after failing to tag up. The sequence ended the top of the first, but gave Baylor a 2-0 lead heading into OU's first at-bat.

Oklahoma answered in the bottom of the first inning with a sacrifice fly ball to left field from Carmichael that scored Spikerman. The Sooners had runners on first and second, but junior infielder Jackson Nicklaus grounded out to second base to end the inning with Baylor ahead 2-1.

On the first pitch of the second inning, Bears' third baseman Hunter Teplansky knocked a home run over the left centerfield fence to extend Baylor's lead to 3-1. Johnson pulled Hitt immediately and put redshirt senior right hander Grant Stevens on the bump in place of the starter.

Later in the inning, Apodaca tapped a ball in play on a check swing that scored Tyriq Kemp from third base to put Baylor ahead by three. A few plays later, Carmichael fired to third as Caleb Bergman attempted to steal the base, but a throwing error caused the ball to roll past the infield and allowed Bergman to score.

After the dust settled, the Bears held a 5-1 advantage going into the bottom of the second inning.

"You've got to overcome that and I think that's what they did," Johnson said. "Just trying to pick each other up. The offense picked the defense up and it was really fun to watch. You know, they picked the pitchers up and it was really good."

OU responded once again in the bottom of the inning with a Spikerman line drive double into right field that scored senior left fielder Kendall Pettis. A double off the wall in centerfield from Carmichael scored senior right fielder Madron and Spikerman a few plays later.

Senior infielder Michael Snyder doubled into centerfield on the next at-bat to bring Carmichael home and tie the game at five. With the bases loaded and two outs, Baylor pitcher Tanner Duke was called for a balk, scoring Snyder to give Oklahoma a 6-5 lead.

After Pettis was walked with the bases loaded, Anthony Mackenzie scored to put the Sooners ahead by two at the start of the third inning. The Bears knotted things up in the fourth inning with a sacrifice fly ball to centerfield that scored Apodaca and a single into right field that scored Ty Johnson.

OU reclaimed the lead in the bottom of the inning, however, after Jackson Nicklaus bunted and Baylor's pitcher committed a throwing error while trying to get the infielder out at first base. Snyder, who advanced to third base on the bunt, ran home as a result of the errant throw.

Oklahoma scored again later in the inning when freshman shortstop Jaxon Willits hit a sacrifice fly ball to left field that brought Mackenzie home from third. Madron hit a shot into center field that resulted in an inside-the-park grand slam after Johnson attempted to make a diving catch but was unable to come up with the ball.

WHAT IF I TOLD YOU...@Bryce_madron // #SCTop10 // @SportsCenter pic.twitter.com/YelMfdqXkn
— Oklahoma Baseball (@OU_Baseball) May 12, 2024

Madron's incredible four-run shot gave the Sooners a 13-7 lead heading into the fifth inning.

WIth two outs and the bases loaded in the bottom of the inning, Spikerman smashed a triple into the outfield that scored Pettis, Willits and freshman outfielder Jason Walk. Carmichael hit a triple a few at-bats later that brought Madron and Spikerman across and Carmichael came in shortly after on a passed ball.

After its third six-run inning of the contest, Oklahoma led 19-7 entering the sixth. The Bears couldn't muster any offense in the sixth or seventh inning, resulting in a run-rule victory for OU.

In the Big 12, a 10-run lead after seven innings in the final game of a series results in the contest ending as a run-rule.

The Sooners will wrap up the regular season next weekend, meeting Xavier on the road on Tuesday before heading to Cincinnati for a three-game series against the Bearcats. While OU guaranteed themselves a share of the conference title on Saturday night, Johnson's squad still has a chance to win the Big 12 outright if they avoid a sweep against Cincinnati.