OU Baseball: Oklahoma Bats Stay Quiet as OU is Swept by LSU

Oklahoma’s bats have been explosive for most of the baseball season.

But this weekend against SEC powerhouse LSU, they were anything but.

The Sooners brought the go-ahead run to the plate with two out in the bottom of the eighth and had the winning run at second base in the bottom of the ninth on Saturday, but couldn’t move the scoreboard either time — the theme of the weekend — and suffered a 3-2 loss in miserably cold, wet, windy conditions at L. Dale Mitchell Park.

But this one wasn’t just a loss. It was a sweep.

It was the first time Oklahoma has been swept in a three-game series since losing all three to Lamar last season, and the first time since 2023 they’ve been swept for three in a conference series, when the Sooners lost three in a row to Kansas State.

Oklahoma was shut out 2-0 in Thursday’s opener, scored just twice in a 10-2 loss on Friday night, and managed two unearned runs — one on a passed ball — on Saturday.

The Sooners scratched out five hits in each of the first two games, and only managed five again on Saturday. That included no home runs and just two doubles. The Tigers, who lead the nation in numerous offensive categories, hit nine doubles and three home runs over the weekend.

OU fell to 23-8 overall and 5-7 in SEC play, while No. 7 LSU improved to 30-3 and 10-2.

While tepid batting cursed the Sooners all weekend, it was pitching and defense that let Oklahoma down in the second inning on Saturday’s defeat.

Starter Malachi Witherspoon issued a leadoff walk, then got two ground balls before giving up two more bases on balls to load the bases.

It appeared Witherspoon had gotten himself out of trouble with a third groundout to end the threat, but Derek Curiel’s grounder to second base trickled right under Kyle Branch’s glove and allowed two baserunners to score for a 2-0 LSU lead.

Oklahoma got a run back in the bottom of the second, but wasted a chance at much more.

Jaxon Willits led off with a walk and Sam Christiansen singled to left. Branch’s sacrifice bunt moved the runners, and Dayton Tockey drew another walk to load the bases.

Willits eventually came home on a passed ball to make it 2-1, but both Dawson Willis and Dasan Harris struck out with runners in scoring position to quell the rally.

OU put runners in scoring position again in the third on a one-out walk to Trey Gambill and a two-out single by Willits, but Christiansen grounded out to second to end it.

LSU sent two runners home in the fourth inning, but only one of them scored.

Luis Hernandez opened the inning against Witherspoon with a double down the left field line and moved to third on a groundout to short. Chris Stanfield hit a grounder to second, and Branch atoned for his error with a perfect throw home to cut down Hernandez.

But then Curiel delivered a two-out single just inside the bag at third base that sent the speedy Stanfield home, where he slid under Easton Carmichael’s attempted tag following Willits’ relay throw. It was a bang-bang play, but Carmichael never gathered the bouncing throw from Willits and LSU led 3-1.

Pinch-hitter Brayden Horton reached on an error at third to start the ninth inning, and after Tockey struck out, pinch-hitter Christian Hoffman grounded out to move Horton to second.

Harris then single to right field to score Horton for the Sooners’ second run. Jason Walk drew a two-out walk on a 3-0 count, moving Horton to second. Gambill’s fly out to center field ended the rally, however.

Oklahoma returns to L. Dale Mitchell this week for a Tuesday night tilt with non-conference nemesis Dallas Baptist, then wraps up a seven-game homestand with an SEC series against Vanderbilt.