OU Baseball: Oklahoma Falls in Season Finale at Cincinnati

Oklahoma came close, but just couldn’t finish the regular season with one more sweep.

Cincinnati’s bats came to life late against the No. 12-ranked Sooners and the Bearcats avoided a sweep with 10 unanswered runs and an unlikely eighth-inning grand slam for a 10-6 victory on Friday at UC Baseball Park.

In the 2024 season finale, OU rested three starters, rolled out nine pitchers and ultimately served up UC senior Josh Hegemann’s first career home run — a grand slam that completed a dramatic rally and gave the Bearcats their first win over a ranked opponent since 2021.

Had the pitching held up, it would have been OU’s seventh conference sweep of the season, setting a new program record. Instead, the Sooners settle for having won 15 of their last 18 conference games and five of the last six league series.

OU fell to 34-18 overall and 23-7 in conference play — a program record for wins as a Big 12 team — while UC improved to 31-23 and 17-13.

The Sooners beat the Bearcats twice on Thursday, 14-6 and 12-8, but shaky relief pitching reared its ugly head again for Skip Johnson’s staff, with four relievers accountable for 10 runs in the sixth and eighth innings. The eighth was crucial, as Jett Lodes, Ryan Lambert and Malachi Witherspoon gave up seven runs on seven hits and three walks — the last four a grand slam off Witherspoon.

Oklahoma opened the scoring in the second inning when Kendall Pettis walked, Jaxon Willits singled to left and Isaiah Lane walked. Pettis came home on Rocco Garza-Gongora’s groundout to put OU in front 1-0.

Cincinnati tried to answer with a pair of singles off left-hander Grant Stevens to open the second inning, but after two fly ball outs, Hegemann was thrown out trying to steal home to end the rally.

The Sooners got an immediate boost from that defensive momentum swing as Easton Carmichael led off the third inning by smashing a curveball over the wall in right-center field for a home run that put Oklahoma up 2-0.

The Bearcats appeared to tie it in the bottom of the third after a walk and a single off reliever Brendan Girton. With runners at second and third and one out, Hunter Jessee stroked a single to right center to make it 2-2. But OU coach Skip Johnson protested Jessee’s bat, and umpires took a look and ruled the bat was illegal. That took the two runs off the board, sent back both runners and made Jessee the second out. Girton induced a fly out to quell the threat as the home crowd rained down boos on the ump crew.

OU made it 3-0 in the fifth when Michael Snyder doubled to right and then raced home on a fielding error — UC’s fifth defensive miscue of the weekend — of Anthony Mackenzie’s hot shot through second base.

In the sixth, the Sooners pulled away when Pettis singled and Willits doubled. Garza-Gongora drove them home with a one-out double down the left field line, and Jason Walk singled to right center to score Garza-Gongora for a 6-0 lead.

Cincinnati finally got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the sixth when Tommy O’Connor singled through the right side to bring home Hegemann. Hegemann had reached on a fielding error to start the inning, then advanced when Carter Campbell walked Kameron Guidry.

Jett Lodes relieved Campbell and was greeted by an RBI single from Landyn Vidourek that scored Guidry and cut OU’s lead to 6-2. Kerrington Cross loaded the bases with a single to right, and Lauden Brooks grounded into a double play that scored O’Connor and made it 6-3.

OU still led 6-3 to start the eighth, but that lead faded quickly.

The Bearcats loaded the bases with nobody out and cut it to 6-4 on Cross’ ground ball to shortstop. Witherspoon came in and issued a walk to re-load the bases, and Jessee’s infield single to short was originally ruled out — but replay review determined Jessee beat the throw, bringing home Vidourek to make it 6-5.

Witherspoon hit Mitchelle to bring home the tying run, and Hegemann followed with his big blast to right field for a 10-6 lead.

OU put two baserunners on to start the ninth, but a double-play ground ball ended it.

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