Oklahoma splits with Kansas State
MANHATTAN, KS – Peyton Graham, Breydon Daniel and Jace Bohrofen homered, and Carson Carter and Jason Ruffcorn preserved the lead as the Oklahoma baseball team defeated Kansas State 6-4 in the night cap of Saturday’s doubleheader at Tointon Family Stadium. The Wildcats won the first game 3-2 in 10 innings on Saturday afternoon.
The Sooners (19-16, 4-7 Big 12) came out swinging in the second game, scoring three runs in the first inning and three more in the fourth, then withstood a four-run fifth inning by the Wildcats (20-15, 3-8 Big 12).
“We finally played through a momentum change in a game,” Oklahoma head coach Skip Johnson said. “We got the momentum, lost the momentum and then played through it, and just grinded our way through the rest of the game. That was really a big factor for us because we haven’t done that all year. We have to continue to do those things.”
Oklahoma 6, Kansas State 4
Tanner Tredaway led off the game with a base hit and moved around to score on a wild pitch to give Oklahoma a quick 1-0 lead. Graham then hit an opposite-field two-run home run to make it 3-0 in the first inning. It was Graham’s sixth homer of the season.
The Sooners extended their lead to 6-0 in the fourth inning when Daniel deposited a towering solo blast onto the top of the practice facility beyond the right field wall, and Bohrofen drove a two-run homer to right center field. The home runs were the second ones of the season for both Daniel and Bohrofen.
Starter Braden Carmichael took a no-hitter into the fifth inning, stranding a baserunner in each of the first three innings. Carter entered in the fifth with one out and a 6-4 OU lead and induced a groundout and pop out to end the inning. He proceeded to pitch three scoreless frames, striking out three batters and allowing just two hits.
Ruffcorn ended the eighth inning with two strikeouts to strand a baserunner. In the ninth inning, he struck out K-State’s leading hitter Dylan Phillips on a full-count pitch with the bases loaded to preserve the two-run victory.
Kansas State 3, Oklahoma 2 (10)
In the series opener, Oklahoma broke a scoreless tie in the fifth inning on an RBI single by Tredaway. Justin Mitchell began the inning with a one-out walk and came around to score on the base hit. In the top of the ninth inning, Graham was hit by a pitch and moved around on a walk and a sacrifice bunt before scoring on an RBI groundout by Conor McKenna to tie the game 2-2.
A two-run single in the fifth inning by left fielder Cameron Uselton gave K-State a 2-1 lead. With two runners on base in the 10th inning, Phillips singled into the left center field gap to bring in the winning run.
Jake Bennett pitched 4.1 innings in the start, striking out six batters and allowing a pair of runs on four hits with just two walks. Wyatt Olds struck out eight batters over 5 1/3 scoreless relief frames, keeping the Wildcats at two runs through the ninth inning. He absorbed the loss to move to 3-3 on the season. K-State reliever Tyler Eckberg (2-3) pitched the final two innings and earned the win. KSU starter Jordan Wicks allowed a run on three hits with seven strikeouts in seven innings.
“That was the best that Bennett has been, and it was the best that Wyatt has been,” Johnson said. “We were trying to do something like that, I thought they were both really good and they answered the call.”
Oklahoma and Kansas State conclude the series with a rubber game at 1 p.m. Sunday.