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Savvy Sooners Earn Oklahoma a Rubber Match Against LSU After Friday Night Victory

Great pitching and timely plays helped the Sooners even the series against the Bayou Bengals.
Brady Trantham|
Oklahoma outfielder Jason Walk prepares to swing against Arizona State.
Oklahoma outfielder Jason Walk prepares to swing against Arizona State. | Carson Field, Sooners On SI

LJ Mercurius (5-1, 1-1) had to step up for Oklahoma on the road. The UNLV transfer was following up a disastrous pitching and fielding performance in the No. 7 Sooners 7-1 loss to No. 20 LSU on Thursday.

That's exactly what he did in OU's 4-2 victory over LSU. Mercurius' consistency led to seven strikeouts, including retiring 10 consecutive Tiger batters, with a 1.60 ERA in just under six innings of play

Oklahoma's (18-5, 3-2) batting picked up on Friday night where Thursday night’s rough start left off against the Tigers (16-8, 2-3). OU's lineup opened like a Tool riff — out of sync and over fast. One-two-three gone. One-two-three gone.

But the lack of harmony was short lived for the visiting Sooners.

Oklahoma Sooners, Deiten Lachance, LJ Mercurius
Oklahoma infielder Deiten Lachance, pitcher LJ Mercurius | Carson Field, Sooners On SI

Third basemen John Pearson hit the first home run of any team this weekend to lead-off the bottom of the second inning. It was Mercurius' fourth home run surrendered on the year.

OU found life in the third when lead-off man Nolan Stevens doubled into left field. After Kyle Branch grounded out, Stevens advanced to third and finally home when Jason Walk singled into left field. The Sooners tied the Tigers at one a piece with LSU returning to the plate.

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Speaking of Walk, he wasn't done with big plays.

Tiger right fielder Jake Brown crushed a ball to deep center. Walk back peddled and leaped into the wall to deny LSU another fast start.

In the fourth, Oklahoma got a bit of reverse mojo from the previous night where the Sooners collapsed in the second inning with multiple poor throws that lead to Tiger points.

Jason Willits singled while Deiten LaChance followed his lead, allowing Willits to reach third. A wild pitch from LSU pitcher Cooper Moore (Bixby native) helped Willits reach home and the Sooners to take a 2-1 lead.

Following the second inning home run, Mercurius refocused and regained control. Through four innings, he struck out five Tiger batters and only walked one player in 64 pitches. In Thursday's 7-1 loss, starting pitcher Cameron Johnson tossed 68 pitches in not even two innings and walked six batters.

OU continued to chip away and build its lead in the fifth inning.

Branch earned the first walk of the game for Oklahoma. After advancing to second off a Walk ground out, Trey Gambill hit a line drive into left field just over the reach of LSU's infield, scoring Branch and extending the OU lead to 3-1.

The Tigers denied OU the chance to extend the lead further in the sixth. With two in scoring position and one out, LSU pitcher Grant Fontenot retired the next two Sooner batters to end the inning.

LSU took advantage of the Oklahoma pitching change in the sixth. Jason Bodin relieved Mercurius and gave up a RBI-single. Bodin recovered and stranded LSU at second by striking out designated hitter Cade Arrambide for the third out.

There was more drama in the seventh. A wild pitch from Bodin put a runner at third. With two outs, Bodin hit LSU batter Steven Milam to put runners on the corners. Skip Johnson had seen enough and brought on Kadyn Leon to try and end the inning and keep the Sooners up 3-2.

Johnson's move paid off as Leon forced a fly out with bases loaded to stop the bleeding.

Gambill earned the Sooners an insurance run in the ninth when he singled into right field to score Branch and stretch the lead to 4-2. Jackson Cleveland got the save when OU ended the ninth on a double play.

Oklahoma will meet LSU again on Saturday afternoon at 2:00 p.m. in a rubber match.

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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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