Oklahoma completes sweep of Houston
NORMAN – Oklahoma hit three home runs and poured on eight runs in the fifth and sixth innings to blow past Houston and sweep the weekend series with a 12-2 victory in seven innings Sunday afternoon at L. Dale Mitchell Park.
The Sooners (12-7) have won six straight and have scored at least 10 runs in seven of their last 12 games.
Brandon Zaragoza hit his first career home run — a two-run shot to left center — as part of OU’s five-run fifth inning. Conor McKenna homered in the third inning, and Jimmy Crooks added a home run in the sixth inning.
Braden Carmichael improved to 4-0 by pitching three shutout innings with four strikeouts in his second start of the week. Jaret Godman tossed three innings in relief and Luke Taggart recorded the final three outs.
“We had Carmichael on short rest, and he went out and did his job,” Oklahoma head coach Skip Johnson said. “We separated the game, getting four runs in the third inning, and it helped us go along. We started taking our walks and driving in runs, and getting big two-out hits. I thought that was the difference in the game for us. It was really good to see our team keep playing offense.”
Crooks, who went 3-for-4 with two RBIs and three runs scored, broke a scoreless game in the third inning with his RBI double to right field. Tyler Hardman grounded home a run, and McKenna followed with his fifth home run of the season. In the fifth inning, Logan Kohler cleared the bases with his three-run double down the right field line, extending the Oklahoma lead to 7-2.
Brandon Zaragoza
Ty Russell / OU Athletics
Zaragoza followed Kohler’s double by driving the first pitch he saw over the wall in left center field to make the score 9-2. The homer capped tremendous offensive weekend for OU’s fifth-year senior shortstop. Zaragoza hit .636 (7 for 11) and drove in nine runs, while reaching benchmarks for career RBIs (108 after Sunday), hits (now 201) and consecutive games started (now 201).
Crooks matched McKenna for the team lead in home runs with his solo shot in the sixth. Oklahoma extended the lead to 12-2 with two more runs in the frame on a wild pitch and bases-loaded walk.
The Cougars (10-9) cut OU’s lead to 4-2 in the fifth inning on an RBI single by center fielder Brandon Uhse and an RBI double by right fielder Steven Rivas. UH starter Ben Sears (1-1) took the loss in the game.
Rivas’ double went into the left field corner with two runners on base, but Brady Harlan and Peyton Graham executed a perfect relay to Crooks at home in time to prevent a second run from scoring.
“I thought we played really good defense today in big moments,” Johnson said. “We had a big ground ball double play in the second inning to get us out of a jam and we kind of built a little momentum. You can get momentum from a defensive play as much as you can from an offensive play. I thought that was the difference today.”
Oklahoma goes on the road for four games this week, beginning with a contest at Texas State on Wednesday. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. on ESPN+. The Sooners open Big 12 conference play at Texas next weekend.