Oklahoma baseball: Sooners sweep Kansas for seventh consecutive win
By Chip Rouse
Oklahoma baseball had a perfect five-game run last week, winning two on the road at New Mexico followed by a three-game sweep at home over Kansas in the Sooners’ Big 12 opener.
The No, 24 Sooners (21-4, 3-0) have now won seven consecutive games and 10 of the last 11.
Sophomore Cade Cavalli wielded the hot bat for the Sooners last week, going 7 for 15 (.466), with four doubles, driving in three runs and scoring four runs.
Cavalli also was the winning pitcher in OU’s weekend series opener, a 5-1 win over the Kansas Jayhawks. The sophomore right-hander started and pitched 6 2/3 innings of scoreless ball, allowing five hits and striking out four. OU first baseman Ty Hardman hit his fifth home run of the season in that game.
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The Sooners score three runs in the home half of the first inning and added a solo run in the third, which was all they would need in taking game two from the Jayhawks, 4-3. Nathan Wiles improved his season record to 5-0, going seven innings and allowing five hits with five strikeouts.
On Sunday catcher Brady Lindsly drove in a pair of runs and was one of five Sooners who collected a pair of hits each as Oklahoma jumped on Kansas for seven runs in the third through fifth innings and went on to a 10-5 victory, completing the series sweep. Sophomore left-hander Levi Prater allowed just one run and two hits in five full innings and struck out six, earning his fifth win of the season to go with one loss.
Junior reliever Jason Ruffcorn appeared in all five OU games last week, and was credited with the save in three pf them. For that performance, the Texas A&M transfer was named the Big 12 Newcomer of the Week.
The Oklahoma pitching staff has been brilliant through 25 games. The Sooners’ 2.42 staff ERA is No. 2 nationally and OU’s four shutouts ranks seventh in college baseball this season.
Oklahoma has a nonconference Bedlam matchup at Oklahoma State on Tuesday and will be in Morgantown, West Virginia over the weekend for a series with the Mountaineers (13-10. 0-3). West Virginia was swept at Baylor over the weekend.