OU Baseball: Oklahoma Sweeps Doubleheader, Series Over No. 14 Texas
A statement made south of the Red River.
After taking the series opener on Friday, Oklahoma wrapped up their three-game set with No. 14 Texas on Saturday with a doubleheader at Disch-Falk Field in Austin, TX.
Hoping to make a statement and potentially turn around their season, the Sooners (22-19, 7-8) did so in resounding fashion winning both ends of the double dip to sweep the day and series over the Longhorns (27-15, 8-7).
In Game 1, Oklahoma used some huge early offense to take a lead that they wouldn’t relinquish.
The Sooners scored five in the second and three in the third to assume an 8-0 advantage over the Horns, with a slew of OU hitters getting in on the action.
Texas would respond, though, as they slowly chipped away over the next several innings to trim the lead down to 8-6 heading into the late innings.
In the eighth, Oklahoma picked up a key insurance run with Anthony Mackenzie driving one home on an RBI single.
From there, the Sooners managed to hang on and seal the deal on a 9-6 victory.
In Game 2, Oklahoma again used early offense to get things rolling.
OU scored two in the first on an RBI triple from Kendall Pettis and a run-scoring single by John Spikerman.
After Texas got one run back in the bottom of the inning, the Sooners struck for three more runs in the second on a three-run homer by Bryce Madron.
However, the Longhorns again would come back to make it a game as they plated a single run in the third, fourth, and fifth innings to wittle the lead down to 5-4 heading into the late innings.
In the seventh, similarly to the first game, OU again picked up an important insurance run with Madron scoring on a passed ball.
The 6-4 lead would prove to be enough for the Sooners, as right-hander Will Carsten turned in a spectacular showing out of the bullpen.
Carsten turned in 3.2 shutout innings allowing just a single hit to put OU within one out of the sweep.
But, after a 2-out walk, Skip Johnson made the bold decision to go his pen again by inserting right-hander Aaron Weber.
The decision paid off, as Weber forced a groundout to third base to end the game.
The two wins move Oklahoma to three games above .500 on the year and to just a single game below even in Big 12 play.
Inarguably their most impressive weekend of the season, the Sooners will hope the ride the momentum of this huge series sweep into a homestand beginning on Tuesday night against Oral Roberts at L. Dale Mitchell Park in Norman.